


Mandu in the Trap

by feminabeata



Category: Infinite (Band), Lovelyz
Genre: College AU, cheese and mandu, cheese in the trap AU, me making fun of the drama, not based on the webtoon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-07
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2018-05-25 08:14:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 105,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6187069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feminabeata/pseuds/feminabeata
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You lure a mouse into a trap with cheese, but you lure a Sunggyu into a trap with mandu.</p><p>(a.k.a. How Kim Sunggyu and Nam Woohyun completely misjudged each other)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mandu

**Author's Note:**

> Because I didn't like the drama so much, I'm re-writing it. Knowledge of the webtoon or drama may or may not be required. Haha I'm not too sure.

_ Everyone must be blind. How am I the only one to see this? _ Sunggyu thought as he gnawed on the lettuce wrap that his friend had made for him.  _ Everyone thinks he’s so great. So sweet. But they don’t notice _ …Right there! The eyes darted around again, scanning the room for people’s reactions. The corner of the mouth twitched, threatening to fall down into a frown. That’s what happens when you force such a fake smile on your face 24/7. You get tired of it.  _ They don’t notice that he’s giving them what they want. And that’s not who he really is. _

_ I’m not falling for his trap _ . Sunggyu’s friend poured him a drink and he swallowed it greedily, wiping his mouth of the soju that spilled over.  _ I’ve had enough. I’m done with this. I’m done with Nam Woohyun. _

“I’m quitting the club,” Sunggyu declared as he slammed his glass back down onto the table.

“What?!” Sungyeol gasped. “Why?”

Sunggyu brought his hands to his temples, rubbing the sides of his head gingerly. But the throbbing in his head did not yield. Instead it was becoming faster, more intense as the blood boiled in his veins. “Because I’ve had enough,” he slurred. “I’m done.”

“Enough of what?’ Sungyeol asked. Sunggyu ignored him and got up from the table, determined to leave everything behind him. Everything, including his wallet, which his friend picked up before chasing him out of the restaurant. Sungyeol was close behind too. He caught Sunggyu as the elder drunkenly stumbled backwards, almost falling.  “You’ve had enough to drink. That’s for sure,” he grumbled as he pulled his hyung back up onto his feet. “Why did you drink so much?” Sungyeol groaned. Sunggyu had fallen backwards again, and Sungyeol had caught him last minute.

Sunggyu’s arms suddenly flew up, nearly clipping the other’s nose, but he didn’t care. He wanted to show everybody the source of each one of all his problems. Sunggyu pointed straight at Nam Woohyun, who was on the other side of the window, still in the restaurant and unconcerned about all the grief he was causing everyone around him. 

“Me? It’s me?” His friend asked, pointing at herself. She pouted. “What did I do?”

“No, Kate, behind you,” Sunggyu slurred, leaning against Sungyeol and nearly passing out on him.

Kate whipped her head around and narrowed her eyes, looking through the window. But once she caught sight of what her friend meant, she groaned, “Ugh! You’re kidding me! Nam Woohyun  _ again _ !”

* * *

Yes, it  _ was _ Nam Woohyun again. It was  _ always _ Nam Woohyun. And it all started last year. He was on the bus with Kate, minding his own business, trying to catch some sleep. But then his friend cooed, freaking cooed at 7 o’clock in the morning.

“So cute,” Kate spoke in a high-pitched voice. Sunggyu peeled open one eye and stared at her wordlessly. However, she paid no heed to his burning one-eyed gaze and kept facing forward, smiling warmly. Sunggyu needed both of his eyes open to see what captivated his friend’s attention.

It was a boy, around his age, with bright blonde hair which was almost as bright as the smile that was on his face. Too bright, like florescent lights, and it hurt Sunggyu’s eyes to stare at it too long, both the hair and the smile. They were too fake. But the boy had gotten up from his seat on the bus, offering it to a pregnant lady who had just boarded at the last stop. 

Sunggyu directed his gaze back to his friend and smirked. Kate blushed and hugged the bag in her lap tightly to her chest. “Don’t judge,” she warned him.   
Sunggyu crossed his arms over his chest and scoffed, “Oh, I’m judging.” But he wasn’t judging his friend. No, not her. He faced forward again and fixed his gaze. Sunggyu was already busy passing judgement on that blonde boy, and the verdict was almost in.

“He just gave his seat to that pregnant lady,” Kate excused herself for having cooed earlier. “It’s sweet.”

It would seem to be that way. But being a man, Sunggyu knew a thing or two about his own gender that Kate would not. For example, some men are nothing but wolves in sheeps’ clothing. Especially this one. He looked cute and gentle with that fluffy, light-colored hair, but even in his smile, he couldn’t hide his wolfish nature. His protruding canines were showing. Now, he was talking to a pretty girl, who struck up a conversation with him after he gave his seat up. Of course, girls like nothing more than a guy who seems sympathetic and sensitive. But Sunggyu looked down to the pregnant woman. She was subtly plugging her nose, trying to be polite, but the man sitting next to her looked as if he hadn’t bathed in days. And judging by the woman’s reaction, he smelt like it too. And so the cute boy escaped the horrid stench while looking like a gentleman and catching the attention of a pretty, young woman. Sunggyu looked back at his friend and sneered, “Yea I’m sure he did that with no ulterior motive.”

Kate rolled her eyes. “It’s way too early for your cynicism,” she remarked. She then gestured over to the blonde boy. “He seems like a sweet guy, whereas you are giving me absolutely no legroom.” Kate dropped her gaze to their legs. Sunggyu had his spread widely, pushing Kate’s legs up against the bus’ wall. “Move!” Kate demanded as she wiggled and tried to move Sunggyu’s legs over. But he was stubborn, as always. “Move.”

The only reason why his legs moved was to get off the bus once they reached their stop. 

It just so happened to be the wolf’s stop too (which really shouldn’t be much of a surprise because it was a line that went to the University). But Sunggyu still watched him carefully. As soon as the wolf stepped off from the bus, the corners of his mouth dropped, and he was frowning deeply.  _ Right, this is how you really are _ . Sunggyu didn’t say those words out loud, but he felt like he had when the wolf’s head suddenly snapped around and their gazes me. Sunggyu stayed rooted where he was and held the gaze. He wasn’t afraid. He wouldn’t let himself fall prey to the wolf either. The blonde boy’s gaze faltered, and he walked away. But not before the corner of his mouth twitched.

“I caught you,” Sunggyu muttered below his breath as he watched the other walk away. “Umph!” The air escaped out of his lungs when someone ran into his back.

“Come on,” Kate said as she walked around from his back to his front. “There’s someone that I want you to meet.” She then spun on her heels and walked ahead, expecting Sunggyu to follow her, which he did. He didn’t know where else to go. It was his first day at the University.

Sunggyu had spent the last two years completing his service in the army. After finishing high school, he felt like his life lack directed and so he deferred his acceptance to the University. He thought that he would gain perspective and life experience after serving his time, but all he got was more confused about what he wanted in life and a new set of curse words. Luckily, Kate was there to guide him around the University. He and Kate met when they were children. Her family had immigrated to Korea when her father took a job at the same company as Sunggyu’s own father. Sunggyu’s parents sort of pressed upon him to become friends with the foreigner so that she’d feel “more at home.” It wasn’t so hard. Kate was nice enough and easy-going. But he didn’t like how after all of these year, in spite of her being a year younger, she never used formal speech with him or called him “Oppa.” She cited that it was because she was an American, and age didn’t matter over there. But she’d been in Korea for over a decade, and Sunggyu had heard to talk formally and respectfully to other people, even calling some men “oppa.” But never him. Even now she was talking to him like that: “Yah! Kim Sunggyu! Hurry up!”

Kate waved at Sunggyu to quickly come to her side. She was at the foot of some stairs and standing next to a rather tall, lanky guy, who was also waving to Sunggyu (but with a confused look in his eyes, as if he didn’t know why he was waving). Sunggyu jogged up to them, and when he reached them, Kate point to the tree-like man. “Meet my lackey!” She announced.

“Hi, I’m Kim Sunggyu,” he introduced himself and stretched out his hand for the other to take. “What’s your name?”

“Lackey!” Kate interrupted just as the tree man opened his mouth.

“I have a real name,” her lackey whined, but there was still a wide grin on his face. The poor guy must be used to her teasing after a year.

Kate stuck out her tongue. “Don’t care,” she retorted and she ran up the stairs.

Once she was out of sight, Sunggyu turned to the other. “So…”

“My name is Lee Sungyeol,” he was finally able to say. He took Sunggyu’s hand and shook it.

“Nice to meet you, Sungyeol.” Sunggyu pulled back his hand and looked the other up and down. It was strange. Besides himself, Kate rarely had male friends, and now she had gotten herself a male slave (her own words, not his). And now meeting her slave for the first time, Sungyeol hardly seemed like a pushover. “How did you become Kate’s lackey?” He asked.

Sungyeol shook his head and muttered, “I don’t even know.” 

But later Sunggyu did know why. It became increasingly obvious that Lee Sungyeol  _ was _ , in fact, a major pushover. Whether it was holding her bookbag as she rummaged through her locker...

Kate asked, “Can you hold this?” only after dropping her heavy bookbag into her slave’s arms.

...or finding a book on the highest shelf at the library…

Kate had tried to get it herself while jumping up and down (but she just scarcely reached the shelf right above her head). Sungyeol was already reaching for the book when she finally asked in an exasperated voice, “Can you get that?” 

...or lending her a pen when hers had run out of ink…

It was more like the pen was stolen right out of his hands. Kate was hastily taking notes during a lecture, and when her pen had died on her, she grabbed Sungyeol’s pen right out of his hand and then asked, “Can I use this?” 

...or letting her eat his food…

While they were sitting in the cafeteria, Kate kept pilfering french fries from her slave and only after the third fry was stuffed into her mouth did she ask, “Can I eat this?” Sungyeol nodded.

...in each and every case, Sungyeol would give into Kate. Why?

Kate smiled brightly and tapped the other gently on the arm. “Thank you,” she said in a soft voice. And that, Sunggyu assumed was the reason. Sungyeol wasn’t just a pushover, he was whipped.

* * *

But back to the matter at hand: why did Sunggyu have a problem with Nam Woohyun. Well, like Kate had “enslaved” her poor friend Sungyeol, Woohyun seemed to have enslaved the entire campus. They all seemed to bend to his will, and they would do anything for that smile of his. At least Kate was a good and kind “master.” She would often help Sungyeol with his studies, she would go along with Sungyeol on his “adventures” (or that’s what he called them), and she seemed to genuinely care about him. Sunggyu couldn’t say the same for Woohyun. He was cold, calculating. Sunggyu once overheard him saying “why should I be grateful when I never asked for this in the first place?” He took others and their kindness for granted, and that’s what bothered Sunggyu the most.

What also bothered him was the chilling look on Woohyun’s face when the smile fell from it. The change was too drastic, going from a sunshine-like grin to a visage as dark as the other side of the moon. It was scary. That coldness, that was who he really was in Sunggyu’s mind. Yet everyone acted like he was a gentle little lamb that needed to be protected from the harsh world.

_ Bullshit _ . Sunggyu saw how Woohyun played others with his very own eyes. In fact, he tried to play Sunggyu once. In the end, Woohyun’s ploy worked, but not to his desired effect. Why? Because Sunggyu made sure to reveal his true character in the process.

It was the first time Sunggyu had ever interacted with Woohyun, and it was already on uneasy terms. They were in a class about managerial strategies, and they had to make a group presentation. Fantastic. Sunggyu was already busting his butt, trying to readapt to the life of a student and wanting to prove to people that his two year hiatus wasn’t due to lack of smarts. And now he had to carry an entire team on his back. His groupmates were already looking at him to take the lead on the project as he was the oldest and most diligent, especially Nam Woohyun. In fact, Woohyun was the one who started chanting “Leader Kim” and disrupting the whole class. That was Woohyun’s first appeal. His second appeal came in the form of cluelessness. Sunggyu had to explain the project to him in full detail before Woohyun finally seemed to understand it. Then he kept asking Sunggyu where to look for sources for research, if he could translate the English for him, and he even pretended to be a tech dummy, fumbling to put a simple charger into his computer. It was all a rouse to look hopeless so that someone else would shoulder his part of the presentation. And it worked. Sunggyu got fed up and told Woohyun not to even bother, he’d do the slides himself. He even held a group meeting and didn’t invite Woohyun. They didn’t need him.

When the other member of their group (Hodong? Howon? Ho-something) asked where Woohyun was, Sunggyu said, “Oh I must’ve forgotten.” 

“I’ll message him then,” Ho-something responded, much to Sunggyu’s chagrin. How could no one else see that Woohyun had no intention of doing any work for this presentation? “Oh,” Hojong mumbled moments later. “He’s out drinking.”

Sunggyu glanced up at the clock and scoffed. It was just barely an appropriate time for drinking. And their presentation was in two days. He really didn’t seem to plan on working for it.  “It’s okay. We don’t need him,” Sunggyu declared. “We’re almost done.”

“He’s on his way. He’s nearby,” Hosoo commented. “Should I tell him not to come?”

Sunggyu sighed as he put the final touches on the slides. “It’s too late now. Let him come. I need to give him his script anyway.” He sighed again as he closed out of the program. “Woohyun will get an A on this project without doing any of the work, isn’t that something?”

“It is,” his partner agreed.

A few moments later, the doors to the study room burst open, and there was Woohyun looking bleary-eyed and frazzled. “Why didn’t you tell me you were meeting?” He asked, out-of-breath. Sunggyu looked him up and down. Woohyun didn’t even have his laptop with him, or anything else to do work with. 

“It’s finished,” Sunggyu ignored the question. He was packing up his things as he continued, “I emailed you the script for the presentation. Just memorize that for Monday, and we’ll be fine.” He zipped up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. “See you in class.”

But before he closed the door behind him, he heard Hosung say to Woohyun, “You’re getting a free ride. Be grateful.” Sunggyu fist pumped to himself. He finally convinced someone to see his side.

But what he heard next ripped out all of the joy from him: “Why should I be grateful when I never asked for this in the first place?”

_ Right. Why did I even expect a ‘thank you’? _ Sunggyu thought.  _ He doesn’t care about anybody but himself. _

* * *

Things had only gotten worse from that point. Yes, they all received A’s on the presentation, but Woohyun took credit and was praised for Sunggyu’s hard work. Sunggyu hadn’t quite sullied Woohyun’s reputation like he had planned. His script must’ve been too good, and Woohyun’s performance was spectacular. In the end, Sunggyu only managed to convince Hoyang of Woohyun’s devilish side. Woohyun, on the other hand, managed to ruin Sunggyu’s standing.

The teacher was handing back their assignments, but she skipped over Sunggyu. At the end of class, Sunggyu had asked where his paper was. “I never received it,” Professor Kang simply answered. “So you got a zero.”

“What?!” Sunggyu exclaimed. “I handed it in! Are you sure that you don’t have it?”

Professor Kang glared up at the student. “Are you implying that I lost it?”

“Ah no,” Sunggyu quickly denied. “I know that I handed it in. I remember giving it to…” And that’s when he remembered: the student who collected their papers that day was none other than Nam Woohyun. “...that bastard.”

“Excuse me?” 

“Ah sorry,” Sunggyu gathered himself again. “I have the document still on my computer. It’ll have the date of when I last made changes to it.”

“Alright,” the professor yielded. “I normally don’t accept late assignments. But since you  _ were _ my top student, I’ll make an exception. Send it to me.”

“Thank you! Thank you,” Sunggyu repeated as he sat back down at the desk and began pulling out his laptop to send the document to her. “If you don’t mind me asking,” he began as he waited for his computer to warm up. “You said I  _ was _ your top student. Did that change?”

“Eung,” Professor Kang answered as she gathered up her things. “With the most recent assignment, Nam Woohyun had the highest grade.”

“Huh?” Sunggyu stopped typing and looked up from his screen, but his teacher already left the room.

He slammed his fist on the table. “That bastard took my paper!”

* * *

Those were the two worst instances when Sunggyu was wronged by Nam Woohyun, but there were others. Like when Nam Woohyun made him stub his toe when he “accidentally” ran into him. Yea right, nothing about Nam Woohyun was accidental. It was all purposeful and planned. However, whenever he would bring up the evilness that was Nam Woohyun to Kate, she would dismiss it. She swore that Sunggyu was falsely attributing things to Nam Woohyun and had a “confirmation bias” (why was he friends with a Psych major who liked to diagnose him now?).

“You can’t fault Nam Woohyun for being cute,” she argued. To her (like to everyone else), that’s all Nam Woohyun was. He was cute, he was friendly, and he had a dorky side. In their eyes, he was like a Corgi that had turned into a human so that even when he bites, he was always easily forgiven. 

“Yes, I can,” Sunggyu retorted.  _ What does Kate know? She’s not from around here. She doesn’t know how two-faced people can be _ . 

Kate rolled her eyes. “That’s just a part of who he is. That’s his nature to be the most adorable being on the planet,” she fought back. Sunggyu scoffed at that. Kate sighed and shook her head. “Just like it’s your nature to be the crankiest. But look, I still hang out with you,” she pointed out.

“Thank you for that sacrifice,” Sunggyu said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

But it was all lost on the foreigner. “You’re welcome!” She chirped, before dashing towards her favorite “tree” on campus. “Hey Sungyeol,” she called out to her slave. “There’s something that I wanted to ask you.” 

“Yes,” Sungyeol responded expectantly. But all his hopes were dashed when Kate pulled out a book from her bag.

“Do you know how to solve this problem?” she asked as she flipped to a page in the book. She showed it to the other while pouting. “I’m stuck.”

Sungyeol barely glanced at the page. “Nope,” he answered and walked away. Kate stood there, speechless at her slave’s defiance. But the slave’s rebellion didn’t last for long. He came back to his master with a cheeky grin on his face. He took the book from her hands. “But I can try,” he offered.

“Thank you,” she said as she usually did.

Sunggyu sighed as he watched the two walk over to a table to solve the problem together. Trying to reveal the wolf’s true nature was as useless as Sungyeol’s rebellion. Sungyeol would always come back to his master, and everyone would always see Woohyun as being harmless.

But he won’t fall for the trap.

* * *

The last straw came that night, when Sunggyu became obscenely drunk. Ever since Woohyun joined their Conversational English Club (which was more like a dinner club than anything else), the people around Sunggyu seemed to become more enamored with him. He even felt like Kate and Sungyeol were falling prey to him. But no one was bigger prey for Nam Woohyun than Kim Sunggyu.

That night, there was a girl named Inha who was stuck to Woohyun’s side for most of the night. Then, Woohyun leaned over and whispered something into her ear. Sunggyu noted how his canines practically glistened at that moment in the dim lighting. He was on the prowl. Inha mouthed “Really?” to Woohyun, and he nodded adamantly, pointing over in Sunggyu’s direction.

“See, he’s watching you now,” Woohyun spoke loudly.

Inha’s chair fell to the floor as she quickly got up and asked Kate (who was sitting to Sunggyu) if they could switch seats. Kate tried to get up, but Sunggyu had pulled her back down. He had heard stories about Inha from his seniors. She was a girl who developed obsessive crushes in a blink of an eye. Normally, they were short but intense, like a bolt of lightning burning whatever it touches to a crisp. And Sunggyu was in no mood to be fried by Inha’s fiery passion. Why did Woohyun essentially attach a lightning rod to his back?

Luckily, Kate got the hint and sat back down. “Sorry,” she apologized to Inha. “I don’t get to see this friend very often. We have a lot of catching up to do,”she lied. 

“That’s okay,” Inha said as she walked over to the end of the table. She pulled a chair from the table next to them and placed it on the other side of Sunggyu. Inha sat down and placed both elbows on the table, cupping her cheeks cutely with her hands. “I never get to see this friend. We have a _ whole ton _ of catching up to do.” She giggled. “Hi, Sunggyu-ssi.”

Sunggyu groaned and pushed his empty cup towards Kate, silently asking for a refill. Once she did, he chugged it down while glaring at Nam Woohyun. “I’m quitting the club!” He announced, slamming the cup back down onto the table. He’d had enough of Nam Woohyun and his antics.

  
Quitting school just to avoid one person would be a bit dramatic, but he could quit the club to avoid seeing the wolf during his free time. He just wanted a moment’s reprieve from Nam Woohyun and his loyal followers. He just wanted to be free. And now Sunggyu felt like he was as he was stumbling back home drunkenly with the help of Sungyeol. He had escaped from the wolf’s den alive, and after this semester, he may never see the beast again.


	2. Mandu Mandu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still no cheese, but maybe a trap?

Sunggyu woke up the next morning with a dull pain in his head and a dry mouth. He had drunk too much last night, entirely too much, but not enough to completely forget, unfortunately. Nam Woohyun, that jerk, had jerked him around for the last time. Sunggyu made his stand by stepping out of the club. Okay so wasn’t going to so much deal with Nam Woohyun as he was just going to avoid the wolf for the rest of his life. That shouldn’t be too hard, right?

He rubbed his bleary eyes and groaned loudly as he sat up straight. He was on the floor of Sungyeol’s apartment. The younger was nice enough to bring Sunggyu back home, but not nice enough to let Sunggyu use the bed. Sunggyu noticed not only the dull pain pounding away in his head, but also the one shooting down his back from sleeping on the hard floor all night long. He was getting too old for this. He needed his own bed.

So Sunggyu clumsily got up from the floor. As he did so, Sungyeol stirred in his sleep. Damn, Sunggyu forgot how much of a light sleeper that Sungyeol was. “Going home?” Sungyeol mumbled in his half-awake.

“Yea.”

“Good. Make sure you close the door on your way out.” Sungyeol was such a gracious host.

* * *

Sunggyu nearly missed his stop on the bus because he had fallen asleep on the bus. Luckily, someone had woken him up just in time for him to rush off the bus. Now, he was dragging his feet all the way up to the steps of his building, where, just his luck, were blocked by Sunggyu’s ‘lovely’ neighbor. Sunggyu’s neighbor was considered ‘lovely’ by most girls and ahjummas in the vicinity for his dashing good looks and mysterious charm, but to Sunggyu, he was a mild annoyance, mostly because his neighbor spent most of his time on the steps of their building like this, playing his guitar. His neighbor had a pipe dream of being discovered on the streets, being handed a recording contract, and becoming Korea’s John Mayer. Needless to say, it wasn’t going to happen, but no one ever told his neighbor that. It would crush him.

“You didn’t come home last night,” his neighbor remarked, not even lifting his head from his guitar.

Sunggyu’s sleep-deprived eyes widened as much as they could in shock. “How do you know?” he asked.

“You’re wearing the same clothes from last night. You…” his neighbor suddenly raised his head and leaned forward in order to smell Sunggyu. He immediately retched afterwards, “Ew, reek of alcohol still.” Did he smell that bad? Sunggyu was trying to subtly smell himself when his neighbor asked, “So you had fun last night, huh?”

“No,” Sunggyu answered honestly. “What about you? What are you doing out here so early? Still trying to get discovered on the streets?”

“Eung.”

“Myungsoo-yah!” Sunggyu yelled at the top of his lungs. Today was the day that Sunggyu was going to knock some sense into his neighbor’s head, and if Myungsoo was going to be crushed, then so be it. All that Sunggyu cared about right now was his bed, and Myungsoo was standing in the way of it. “That’s not how it works! Do you think someone is really going to sign you because of hearing your crappy songs on the streets?”

“They aren’t crappy. I worked really hard on them,” or Kim Myungsoo wasn’t going to listen to a word that Sunggyu told him, remaining as hard-headed as ever. Myungsoo even still had that excited grin on his face. “Listen. I came up with a new one last night. I’ll play it for you,” he ‘graciously’ offered. He placed his fingers back onto the guitar strings and counted, “1, 2…”

Sunggyu laid his hand over Myungsoo’s hand on the guitar, stopping him. “Myungsoo, go find a real job,” he begged. “Or go back to school. Or even go to an actual audition for all I care! Just don’t play the song, please. I have enough of a headache as it is.”

A pain of guilt shot through Sunggyu as Myungsoo’s face fell. Myungsoo’s hands fell away from the guitar, and he averted his gaze, looking off to the distance with a deep frown on his face. “An audition...huh,” he murmured.

Sunggyu sighed. Myungsoo wasn’t upset by his words, he was just thinking them over. It was always hard to tell what Myungsoo had on his mind. Sunggyu patted the other’s shoulder. “Okay while you think about that, I’m going to bed,” he said and began to ascend the stairs. But he didn’t get far.

“OOOOOOOOOOPPAAAAAAAAAAA!”

If Sunggyu’s headache was a dull pain before, at that screech, it felt like a thousands of knives had stabbed his head. He groaned and covered his ears, ready to shout at whatever of Myungsoo’s fans that had decided to haunt the stairs with the aspiring musician. But he lowered his hands and tilted his head once he caught sight of the screeching girl. She wasn’t any of the neighborhood girls that Sunggyu was familiar with, and she wasn’t nearly old enough to be dating Myungsoo, if her high school uniform was any indication of her age. And at her feet, she was surrounded by bags and suitcases. It was obvious what she had done before she’d even admitted it.

Myungsoo remained rooted in his spot, stunned by the girl’s sudden appearance.“Oh, Myungeunnie, what are you doing here?”

“I ran away from home,” she confessed with a trembling lip before running over to the stairs and into Myungsoo’s arms.

Myungeun was Myungsoo’s little sister, who had just snuck out of her house, pretending to go to school, only to end up at her brother’s house. Much like her brother, Myungeun dreamed of becoming a singer. Their parents were much opposed to the idea (and probably because they saw how much that dream ruined Myungsoo’s life, dropping out of school and jumping around from one part-time job to another). But Myungeun couldn’t give up on it, so she ran away and was going to test her luck.

 _Great, now the two of them will be singing on my doorstep at all hours_ , Sunggyu thought as he lugged one of Myungeun’s suitcases up the stairs. Sunggyu didn’t know how he got roped into helping the little sister to move in, but here he was in Myungsoo’s apartment throwing the suitcase onto the floor.

“Are you sure that this place isn’t haunted?” Myungeun asked in a small voice. She was sitting on the couch with her back turned to the room, looking out of the window. Her chin was hooked over the backrest. “This place looks haunted.”

“It’s not,” Myungsoo answered plainly, as if this accusations were ordinary.

Myungeun craned her neck back to her brother, with a seriously concerned expression on her face. “But it’s old.”

Myungsoo walked up to his little sister and patted her head gently. “The oldest thing here is Sunggyu-ssi, so there’s no need to worry.”

“Yah!” Sunggyu yelled from the doorway at the two siblings. “I’m not _that_ old.”

Myungsoo smirked. “Neither are these apartments. They were built 20 years ago,” he explained. “And you’re 22, so that makes you the oldest thing in this room.”

“Oh,” Myungeun muttered as she scanned Sunggyu up and down. “I guess it’s not that bad.” She then turned around again to look out the window. “Do you think Mom and Dad sent people out to look for me? Do you think I was tailed?”

Sunggyu rolled his eyes and walked out of the apartment. It was about time he crashed on his bed and caught a few minutes of sleep before he had to make his afternoon classes.

* * *

“Are you really quitting the club?”

Just as Sunggyu stepped onto the campus, Kate ran up to him and assaulted him. It was like she had sensors up to feel out her friend (well, that and she texted him asking when he’d arrive). Sunggyu was taken aback, and noticed that his friend was peculiarly alone and close. He pushed her away when he answered, “Yea.” But he quickly changed the subject off of himself. There wasn’t much more to say about it anyway. “Where’s Sungyeol? Isn’t a slave supposed to attend to his master at all times? You’ll have to whip him later.”

“Yes, I do, but don’t change the subject,” Kate caught him, and then literally caught him when she stepped in front of him and stopped him from walking away. “Are you really leaving because of Nam Woohyun?”

“Didn’t I say that last night?” Sunggyu answered curtly and then walked around Kate.

Kate huffed and stamped her foot before chasing after the other. Luckily for her, Sunggyu wasn’t in much of a mood to be chased around campus, and he settled at a picnic table. Kate sat down right across from him, glaring. “But you were drunk and irrational. Now you’re just sober and irrational,” she combatted. Sunggyu frowned and narrowed his gaze on her. Kate shrugged it off.  “What? The club is one of the few times that we get to hang out together because you’re always studying...or sleeping,” she explained.

“I have a lot of catching up to do,” Sunggyu excused himself.

“Yea, well so do we, Gyu,” Kate raised her voice. She brought her hand to her heart. “You didn’t just miss school for two years, but you missed out on me for two years too!”

Sunggyu smirked. Now he’d caught Kate. “You missed your oppa,” he pointed out.

“I did,” Kate quickly agreed. It was unusual for Kate to confess her feelings like this, or to do so in such a serious tone. It had taken Sunggyu off guard. She was genuinely upset...at him. Kate pouted, while she begged, “So please don’t quit.” _Oh great. She’s using aegyo too_.

Sunggyu paused for a few seconds as he soaked in Kate’s expression. “I’ll think about it,” he mumbled reluctantly. And although it was barely audible, Kate still heard it and grinned.

“Kate! I got your coffee!” Sungyeol shouted off from the distance. Sunggyu looked over and saw the lanky student scurrying over to their table with two cups of coffee in his hands. Sungyeol slid in next to Kate and placed the cup in her hands before plunging his hand into his coat pocket. “And a little something extra,” he announced as he pulled out a wrapped muffin and put it in front of her.

“Ah! Thank you!” Kate squealed in delight as she picked up the muffin. “I guess I don’t have to whip you this time.” And with that, she got up from the table and went off to class.

“Whip?” Sungyeol repeated, scarcely believing his ears. “Why would you whip me?” he asked Kate, but she was already out of earshot. He then turned to Sunggyu, wide eyed and scared. “Why would she whip me? Am I missing out on something?” Sunggyu shrugged and followed Kate. “Should I be concerned?”

* * *

If Sunggyu thought that the strangest part of his day was the suspicious runaway who landed at his doorstep, he was sorely mistaken. When he entered the business school building, Sunggyu caught sight of his TA for Professor Kang’s class. He was almost certain that they made eye contact. But right as Sunggyu was about to greet him, the TA acted as if he’d never seen Sunggyu and went straight into Professor Kang’s office. Or at least he tried too. The TA ran into the door, forgetting to open it up first.

Strange, but still not the strangest part of his day.

“SUNGGYU-SSI!” Neither was Inha, who was calling his name and chasing him down the hallway. Luckily, Sunggyu ducked into the lecture hall just in time and squeezed himself in between the Ho-kid and (unfortunately) Nam Woohyun. But even Nam Woohyun was better than Inha, by just an iota, a teeny tiny bit, because Nam Woohyun knew that Sunggyu hated him and Inha didn’t. That was the difference.

* * *

Or at least Sunggyu had thought Nam Woohyun knew, especially after all of the death-glaring and ruckus from the night before. But what happened after class showed that Nam Woohyun had no clue at all.

“Hey,” he spoke out as Sunggyu was packing his bag up quickly.

Sunggyu raised an eyebrow at him. “Hi,” he responded in an apprehensive tone and zipped up his bag. He then pulled out a candy bar from his side pocket, wrapped it, and began eating it, giving him an excuse to not talk to the mouth. His mouth was too busy chewing. Sunggyu then turned his back to the other. He wanted to leave before this got any stranger.

“So...Do you want to grab lunch?” Too late.

“I don’t eat,” Sunggyu turned back around and gave that muffled answer (as his mouth was still full). Woohyun scoffed and his eyes fixed on the candy bar in Sunggyu’s hands. “This is, uh, medicinal. I have low blood sugar,” he lied. And with a short wave, he scampered out of the lecture hall.

What strange world had he woken up to this morning?

Sunggyu immediately headed over the cafeteria, ready to tell his friends about what had just happened. But when he slid into the spot across from him, Kate and Yeol were staring at him with round eyes and slackened jaws. They didn’t expect him to come, which was strange because they ate together everyday. “Oh. Hey,” Kate finally broke the strained silence between the three of them.

“Hi,” Sunggyu greeted her back. His eyes darted back and forth between the two in front of him. They were being incredibly suspicious. He could tell the Sungyeol was itching to tell Kate something. His lips were twitching as he glanced down at her. “What’s going on? Were you just talking about me?” Sunggyu concluded that they must’ve been talking (badly) about him behind his back. Why else would they be acting like this?

“No, no, no.”

“Of course not!” They adamantly denied. But Sunggyu’s fears were only affirmed. _Yes, they were talking about me._

Kate’s gaze drifted over to the entrance of the cafeteria. “Is someone else coming too?” she asked.

Sunggyu furrowed his brows in confusion. “No,” he answered. “Why would someone else come?” He then followed her gaze to the entrance. Ho-someone walked through the doors and stared at their table before moving on. Did Kate mean him?

“I don’t know,” Sungyeol tried to dismiss it all. But Sunggyu now fixed his calculating glare onto him. _He knows something_. “Let’s eat. Ah,” he quickly suggested and stuffed a piece of kimbap into Sunggyu’s mouth.

“Me too,” Kate said, opening her mouth absurdly wide for Sungyeol to feed her too.

“Hm,” Sungyeol hummed in thought while looking at her. “No.” He then popped the piece of kimbap into his own mouth.

“You’re a bad slave,” Kate huffed. “I’m going to sell you to In—”

“Alright alright,” Sungyeol mumbled as he crammed a piece into her mouth. “Happy now?” She nodded and munched happily. Sungyeol smiled. “Good.”

Sunggyu rolled his eyes at them. Even though they were in college, those two still acted like children. But even their childish actions couldn’t distract him for long. His eyes fixed on the entrance again. _Who were they waiting for?_

* * *

“Sunggyu-ssi! I found you!” Sunggyu grabbed his chest, hand over his heart, when he heard Inha’s voice behind him. Slowly he craned his neck to look behind him, and sure enough, she was sitting behind his seat on the bus, beaming at him. Her eyes disappeared into her smile as their gazes met. She was _really_ happy to see him. Sunggyu almost felt guilty that he didn’t feel the same way. Almost because Inha still gave him the creeps.

She tilted her head as she looked at him fondly. “I saw you ride this line earlier today, when you were asleep,” she revealed. Sunggyu looked away and tried to figure out exactly when it was. He didn’t sleep on his way to school, but he had slept on the bus at the wee hours of the morning when he was coming back from Sungyeol’s. _When I almost missed my stop._ “Luckily I woke you up right in time for your stop.” Inha then pouted severely and talked in a aegyo-filled tone. “To be honest, I woke you up so that I could talk to Oppa and tell you how cute you look when you’re sleeping. Even your drool is cute.” Sunggyu finally looked back up at her. _She’s crazy_. Inha giggled. “I can call you ‘oppa,’ right?”

“I don’t think that’s appropriate. You’re older than me,” Sunggyu curtly replied. “This is my stop.”

“I know,” Inha chirped as she followed him off of the bus. Sunggyu spun on his heels and stared at her. Inha just giggled and smiled in response. He shrugged, turned around, and took a step forward. Inha stepped up besides him. And when he took another step, she did the same. _She’s following me. She’s following me and not being subtle about it. Aren’t stalkers supposed to lurk in the shadows?_ Sunggyu glanced over at her again. If worse came to worse, he concluded that with his army combat-training and Inha’s small size, he could probably beat her in a fight. So for now, she was harmless. And he continued walking on his way home, ignoring her the best that he could.

But that was kind of hard when Inha kept remarking about every little thing that they came across and kept trying to hold his hand. But luckily, Sunggyu’s apartment was only a few more steps away. He could already hear Myungsoo twanging away on his guitar. Sunggyu waved to the musician, desperate to see someone normal once again (and it was weird to consider Myungsoo as ‘normal’ in the first place). When Myungsoo waved back, Inha gasped, “Oh this is where you live, oppa?”

Crap. Sunggyu hadn’t thought this all the way through. Letting Inha know where he lived was anything but harmless. Who knows what she would do with that information?

Luckily, someone thought quicker on his feet than Sunggyu did. “This is where _I_ live,” Myungsoo answered as he put down the guitar, came down from the stairs, and (weirdly) greeted Sunggyu with a hug. “Hey hyung.” He pulled away and asked, “Wanna come with me to get a snack for our little Myungeunnie?”

“Uh sure,” Sunggyu stammered, still confused. He glanced back at Inha and gave her a slight bow. “See you later,” he told her before walking off to the convenience store with Myungsoo.

Inha was left behind, stunned and walking around, not knowing whether to follow the two boys or not. But then she stopped in her tracks and cocked her head, pointing at the boys as Myungsoo put his arm around Sunggyu’s shoulders. “Is he gay?”

* * *

Sunggyu has heard before that some people go through a period of time when they become completely attractive and irresistible. And he was thinking that he must be going through that phase in his life. First there was Inha. Sure she developed crushes faster than the tides shift, but her infatuation with Sunggyu has lasted for longer than a day. That was weird. Second, Myungsoo was oddly attentive the night before, rescuing Sunggyu from his stalker and then buying him ramyun at the store. Okay so Sunggyu bought the ramyun and Myungeun’s ice cream. But it was odd that Myungsoo had noticed that Sunggyu needed to be rescued. Normally he didn’t notice anything these days outside of his guitar and his little sister. Third, there was Nam Woohyun, who asked him to lunch. Enough said.

Even Sunggyu’s TA was being abnormally friendly towards him. This time when they met each other in the hallways, he actually bowed to Sunggyu instead of trying to avoid him by running off into Kang’s office again. They had a short but nice conversation, and Sunggyu couldn’t help but to notice the faint blush spreading through his TA’s cheeks.

When the TA excused himself, Sunggyu caught a glimpse of his reflection in the window. He smirked. _I must be looking good today._

* * *

 _I look too good today_ , he concluded. _Curse my handsomeness._ It was the end of class and Nam Woohyun was standing in front of him again. “How about today?” the wolf asked with a slight(ly forced) smile. His canines glistened in the florescent lighting along with his blindingly blonde hair. It made Sunggyu’s eyes hurt. “Do you want to eat lunch?”

“Sorry. I already made plans with someone else,” Sunggyu responded as he got up from his seat. He wasn’t lying. He had a standing plan to eat with his friends everyday in the cafeteria. _It’s not a lie_.

“Sungyeol and Kate?” Woohyun guessed correctly. “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if I join.”

Sunggyu groaned. _Of course Kate wouldn’t mind_ , he thought. Kate still naively thought that Nam Woohyun was the most adorable being to grace the planet. Whenever she talked about Nam Woohyun, it was like she was talking about a teddy bear rather than an actual human being, a very cunning and deceptive human being. No, he didn’t want to see Kate fawn over him all throughout lunch. _Although Sungyeol’s reaction to that might be entertaining_...

Sunggyu shook that thought from his head. Not even Sungyeol’s reaction would be worth it. “I’m not eating with them,” he lied and moved to leave the classroom.

But the wolf stalked his prey out of the room. “Then who?” Woohyun’s voice sounded annoyed, but he quickly covered it up with a hearty chuckle. “You have other friends?”

“Of course!” Sunggyu snapped back. And at that moment, Sunggyu caught a glimpse of his new savior out of the corner of his eye. “Ho—” he tried to call out to his classmate, but.. _Dang it_. He never could remember his classmate’s name. And now the Ho-body was almost out of the classroom. “Ho-Yah!” Sunggyu yelled at the guy, hoping that he’d turn around.

And, much to Sunggyu’s relief, he did. His classmate looked around and pointed to himself. “Huh? Me?” he asked in disbelief. He didn’t seem used to people calling (almost) his name.

“Who’s Hoya?” Woohyun challenged.

“This kid.” Sunggyu ran up to ‘Hoya’ and put his arm around his shoulders, as if they were good buddies already. He pointed to his classmate with a wide grin on his face, trying to be convincing. “This kid is Hoya, and I’m eating lunch with him,” he announced. “You’d know him if you came to any of the group meetings.”

“We’re eating lunch?” Hoya replied in disbelief.

“Hahaha,” Sunggyu’s laugh was dry and obviously fake. He then put his classmate in a loose headlock, shaking him slightly. “Oh Hoya, you jokester,” he teased. “Let’s go. Bye, Nam Woohyun-ssi!” He waved farewell to the wolf and let out a great sigh of relief when he and Hoya turned the corner and were safe and sound.

“Hoya...is that like a nickname?” his classmate asked, sighing in relief along with Sunggyu. That’s when Sunggyu remembered that ‘Hoya’ was probably the only other person on campus who disliked Nam Woohyun as much as he did. _Hah, maybe we can be real friends_. Real friends founded on a basis of mutual hatred, sounds like a lasting relationship to Sunggyu.

“Sure. If you want it to be,” Sunggyu offered.

“I like it. It’s got a ring to it,” Hoya readily accepted it with a wide grin. “So where are we eating?”

* * *

When Sunggyu came home, his door was already unlocked and he could hear voices on the other side. _Crap, I really have to start hiding my spare key better,_ he thought as he opened up the door with a groan. “Hey guys,” he greeted his friends.

“Hey!” they all responded back before returning their attention back to the t.v. screen.

“Alright, alright,” Sungyeol muttered as he straightened out the paper in one hand and twirled a pen in the other. “Place your bets! Who is Dukseon going to marry?”

Sunggyu walked into his kitchen. “Watching Reply 1988 this time?” he yelled as he opened up the fridge.

“Eung,” Sungyeol answered. “I call Sunwoo!” he quickly added, placing his bet before anyone else could take it away from him. “It’s obvious that they’re going to get together. He’s perfect,” he bragged. “Look! Dukseon likes him already!”

“Dummy,” Kate teased him, giving him a slight knock on the head. “It’s too early. It’s _obvious_ that he’s gonna end up being her first crush.” Sungyeol frowned at her and rubbed his head as if she’d hit it harder.

“Hm, I call Taek-oppa,” Myungeun placed her bet down. “He’s really cute. If Dukseon doesn’t take him, then I will.”

“Either way, you win. I like it,” Sungyeol said as he wrote down Myungeun’s bet. “Myungsoo?”

“Junghwan,” Myungsoo answered, bringing his thumbs up to his lips as he studied the screen. Junghwan had just appeared on it. “I like his eyes.”

Sunggyu closed the fridge door after grabbing a drink from it. He took a sip while he analyzed the face on the screen, the eyes in particular. He then looked at the mirror hanging nearby on the wall. His gaze went over to Junghwan on the screen, and then back to his own reflection in the mirror. _Our eyes are similar, aren’t they?_

“Okay. Kate?” Sungyeol turned to his master with anticipation.

“Dongryong.”

“Aigoo, and you called _me_ dumb,” Sungyeol commented as he wrote down her bet. “You should’ve doubled up with one of us instead.”

“What?” Kate challenged him. “What’s wrong with my bet?”

“He’s funny looking!” Sungyeol argued. “There’s no way they’ll end up with each other. He’s not handsome enough.”

“Eung. I agree,” Myungeun chimed in.

Kate frowned and brought her knees to her chest as she angrily watched the drama unfold on the screen. “But I don’t think Taek’s _that_ handsome either,” she grumbled.

“WHAT?!”

The other three might’ve been aghast, but Sunggyu just chuckled as he walked over into the living room. He was used to Kate’s ‘tastes.’ What she found attractive, most other people didn’t, like when she said he looked _really_ handsome with a haircut which most people described as a mouse had chewed off his bangs. He’d like to chalk it up to her being a foreigner, but that might be too lenient. She was as weird as the rest of them.

“You’re kidding, right.” Myungeun was standing up now and pointing at the screen with a stern face. “Look at him, Unnie! He’s so cute.”

“I mean, he’s cute,” Kate rephrased her words. “But Dongryong’s cute too, in a nerdy way.” Myungeun gasped and fell back onto the floor in shock. She couldn’t believe that Kate compared Dongryong to her handsome oppa.

Sungyeol clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “You have strange tastes.” Then, he realized something. He dropped the pen and paper from his hands and placed his hands over his chest as he faced Kate. “What about me? Do you think I’m handsome?”

Kate smirked at him. “Do you _really_ want me to answer that?” she retorted.

“Yes,” he blurted out, but a half second later, Sungyeol took it back, “No, no, no.” If she said yes, did Sungyeol _really_ want to be put into the same league as Dongryong and Sunggyu with that ugly haircut? No, no he didn’t. In this case, ignorance was bliss.

“I think you’re handsome,” Myungeun tried to offer him some consolation, patting Sungyeol’s hunched back.

“Me too.” Myungsoo did the same, but with an amused smile on his face.

“Thank you,” Sungyeol muttered. He then raised his head again, trying to catch Kate’s gaze, but she was turned around, facing Sunggyu.

“Are you going to join us? No one has bet on Jongbong yet,” she offered while pointed at the round-faced man who was now gracing the screen. Dongryong had a better chance with Dukseon than that character.

“Pass,” Sunggyu replied with a shake of his head. “Besides, I need to study for my exam, which reminds me…” He then stood firm and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring down at his four ‘guests.’ “...why are all of you in my apartment?”

Myungsoo gestured in front of him. “You have a t.v.”

Sungyeol pointed at Myungsoo as he answered, “He invited us over.”

Sunggyu narrowed his stare on his neighbor. “You really know how to make yourself at home at someone else’s house,” he remarked. Sunggyu then glared at them all. “Leave!” he shouted, nodding towards the door. “I have to study!”

“Fine!” Sungyeol grudgingly gave in. He turned to the other three. “We can watch at my place,” he offered.

Sunggyu stamped his foot as he followed the others to the front door. They were all putting on their shoes as coats, slowly. “Why didn’t you go there first?” he whined.

“We were invited over,” Kate answered as if it were a good enough reason. Sunggyu sighed as he watched his old friend put on her shoes. He knew that he was going to pay the price for not staying in the club. Kate was going to squeeze in ‘friend-time’ any way that she could, even if it meant crashing his apartment to binge watch a drama. _She even tried to get me to watch with them_ , Sunggyu thought back to moments earlier. Great, now he felt bad about kicking out his uninvited guests.

But Kate didn’t seem too beaten up about it. She turned to Sungyeol and said, “Anyway I think Dongryong will be the husband.”

Sungyeol chuckled softly and shook his head at her. “Why are you still on this?”

“You’re wrong,” Myungeun joined in again.

“Because look at how well they understand each other and how well they play together. Isn’t that what everyone wants in a relationship, in a husband?” Kate defended her reasoning. She then looked up at Sungyeol, hoping to drag her slave onto her side. “Isn’t it?”

“It should be,” Sungyeol grinned widely and yielded only that much. “But dramas work differently than in real life.”

“Right,” Myungeun said like a dreamy sigh. Her hands tucked under her chin as her gaze wandered off. “The boys are perfect and handsome and rich. They are dream boyfriends. Ah, I want one.”

Myungsoo came up behind his sister and covered her ears. “They’re unrealistic,” he whispered, not wanting his sister to overhear and crush her girlish dreams. He then uncovered her ears and ruffled his sister’s hair before saying, “Dongryong won’t be the husband.” And with that (and with a ‘good night’ to Sunggyu), he and Myungeun left.

As the other two were leaving, Kate extended her hand and pouted. “Yeollie, can I borrow some money?” she asked cutely.

Sungyeol slapped her hand away. “I’m not covering for your part of the bet,” he denied her. This slave was having more rebellions lately (or was he ever really a slave at all). “You need to feel your loss and learn from it.” He then went out the door too.

“Please!” Kate begged as she chased after him. The door closed behind her.

And now Sunggyu was left all alone. his apartment was still and quiet. It was the perfect atmosphere to study for his exam coming up. He hated it, but it was necessary. He had a lot of catching up to do.

* * *

That night, while he was researching different managerial methods, even looking at case studies beyond what Professor Kang had taught them, he received an email from his professor. His paper was finally graded. Sunggyu closed his eyes for one, two seconds before opening them back up to read his grade. And once he did, he stared at the grade, blinking his eyes in disbelief. He’d gotten an A, which was great. No it was beyond, great. It was amazing! The only problem was that there was no way Sunggyu should’ve received an A. The assignment was technically late and Professor Kang was notoriously strict with deadlines. What happened?

Sunggyu read the email further, mouthing the words as he did: “I’m extending apologies from your TA. After class, he had found your paper at the bottom of his bookbag. It was a great oversight on both of our behalves, and we both decided that you should not be penalized for this grievous error.”

The TA had lost his paper, which meant that his TA didn’t have a crush on him, he was just embarrassed. Sunggyu puffed out his cheeks and let out a breath as he fell back onto his bed. _Well, I was wrong_ , he thought. _I was very wrong_. And he wasn’t wrong in regards to the TA only.

If the TA had lost the paper, that mean Nam Woohyun hadn’t stolen it.

* * *

The next day, Nam Woohyun didn’t ask him to lunch after class like he’d done the past two days. And because of his realization last night, Sunggyu might’ve said ‘yes’ today...maybe. Instead of the wolf, Kate was waiting for him outside of the lecture hall. His mother had given her their family recipe for mandu, and Kate had made some fresh this morning. When Sunggyu asked why, she responded that it was for a ‘special’ occasion. And that was good enough for Sunggyu. He loved his mother’s mandu and missed them. But he should’ve been on his guard for multiple reasons.

  1. Kate rarely ever cooks on a whim.
  2. She surely wouldn’t cook one of Sunggyu’s favorite foods on a whim.
  3. Why would Kate meet him outside of the lecture hall when they typically always meet in the cafeteria?
  4. Where was Sungyeol?



Sungyeol was in the cafeteria, waiting for Kate and Sunggyu to show up. And Nam Woohyun was sitting right next to him. The wolf caught Sunggyu’s gaze and smirked. He was finally having Sunggyu for lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you couldn't tell, Myungsoo and Myungeun (JIN) are my Inho and Inha. Luckily Woollim has two people with the same character starting their first name. Thank you, Woollim!


	3. Mandu Mandu Mandu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> STILL NO CHEESE, only cheesy situations

Sunggyu stood at the end of the table, staring at the three of them, who were staring right back at him. He was in a fix. Sungyeol and Woohyun were sitting next to each other on one side. Kate, quick on her feet and with her feet, sat down next to Sungyeol, where Sunggyu was planning to sit, as far away from Nam Woohyun as he could without raising suspicion (he was going to pretend that he had to talk with Sungyeol urgently about one thing or another, but stupid fast Kate and her stupid fast feet slid into the seat while Sunggyu was still plotting what to do). The four of them couldn’t sit on the same side of the table. That would be just plain ridiculous. So Sunggyu, with a deep frown, sat across from his former best friend, as far as he could get from the wolf within reason.

The wolf didn’t prowl around to the other side of the table, surprisingly, in order to encircle and ensnare his prey. Nam Woohyun laid in wait on the other side of the table, leering at Sunggyu as they ate. Sunggyu was afraid that the other would pounce at anytime, flashing his fangs.

Before long, Kate jumped up from the table, brandishing her cellphone. She wanted to take a group photo of them, a proof photo for her mother that she could indeed cook and made friends in college. “She doesn’t think that I have any friends besides Sunggyu,” Kate remarked as she set up the camera on her phone.

Sungyeol lightly tapped her on the shoulder. She craned her neck back, and Sungyeol was pointing at himself. “You didn’t tell her about me?” he asked, breaching the topic with caution.

Kate snapped back around and answered in a distracted voice, “Sort of.”

“Sort of?” Sungyeol repeated with a pout.

“Everyone get into the picture,” Kate announced, not hearing her friend. The three of them on the same side of the table leaned in and posed for the camera. Sunggyu didn’t even move from his spot and just continued eating...and sneering at Nam Woohyun. That wolf had his claws on Sungyeol’s shoulders. Did those two even know what sort of danger that they were in? Kate then suddenly turned towards him. “Gyu, lean in closer. You’re barely in the frame,” she ordered.

Sunggyu didn’t budge. “Your mom already knows what I look like,” he retorted.

“Yes, but you’re the most handsome,” Kate tried to convince him. And it worked. With a heavy sigh, Sunggyu leaned across the table, showing his handsome face in all of its glory (and maybe trying to outshine the wolf too with his smile). As he was leaning in, Kate yelped. Sungyeol had pinched her. Based on her glare, Kate probably assumed that he did that so that she’d make an ugly face in the photo, but she would be wrong (Sunggyu catalogued that in his mind for later. Eventually, he’d have to talk to her about this). “Alright, everyone is in! Lee Sungyeol, don’t pinch me again,” Kate warned through gritted teeth. Sungyeol only shrugged, acting as if he hadn’t done anything wrong. “One, two, three, smile!” The camera clicked.

“Let me see it,” Woohyun commanded, stretching out his arm immediately for the phone after the photo was taken. Sunggyu scoffed and leaned back in his seat. Of course the wolf would be careful to groom his image. God forbid that there would be a bad photo of him. Kate handed her phone over to him. “Namu…” she cast a nervous glance to Sunggyu and quickly dropped, “...hyun, take one of us.” Kate gestured between herself and Sungyeol. Sungyeol, not expecting this, had just stuffed a king-sized dumpling into his mouth. Sunggyu hadn’t expected it either from his old friend either. It was curious. He raised an eyebrow at the two as Sungyeol quickly swallowed his food, and they posed for the photo. 

“Okay. 1, 2, mandu!” Woohyun said as he took the photo. 

When he handed the camera back to Kate, she gestured between Woohyun and Sunggyu. “Now you two!” she insisted. “I want a picture of you two.”

“Why?” Sunggyu immediately objected to the idea, almost cutting her off. He looked at Nam Woohyun out of the corner of his eye, and he was doing the same. Sunggyu turned to face him straight on, cocking his head. If Nam Woohyun was going to size him up, he might as well have a good look at all of Kim Sunggyu. But then he felt someone pulling him over the table. It was Kate, forcing Sunggyu into the frame. 

“I just want a picture of the two most handsome men at the table. OW! Stop it,” she snapped, while hitting Sungyeol who must’ve pinched her again. She glared at him, rubbing her upper arm.

And Sungyeol stared at her right back. “I’m handsome too,” he argued.

“Of course,” Kate dismissed him and quickly turned to the other two boys. “Ready?” she asked. Woohyun gave a short nod and fixed a stiff smile on his face, hiding his fangs. Sunggyu didn’t smile. In fact, he didn’t even have time too (not like he would’ve anyways). Kate quickly snapped the picture before Sunggyu could move. His eyes were barely open. He was about to open his mouth, asking for a second shot, but then that would mean another photo of him with the wolf. Two was enough. Sunggyu retreated back to the safety of his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. Her mom better appreciate those photos. He practically put his life on the line for them (maybe one day Sunggyu would act like Nam Woohyun wouldn’t eat him alive, but today wasn’t that day).

Sunggyu raised his gaze, searching for his friend. Woohyun had switched seats with Sungyeol, and he and Kate were looking at the photos and exchanging phone numbers. Sunggyu shifted in the seat. He’d have to keep a closer eye on the beast. Nam Woohyun had snuck up on him without his notice. Sunggyu gripped the bottom of his chair, about to slide down closer to Sungyeol, but then he caught sight of his other friend. Sungyeol was stabbing at the mandu with his chopsticks, side-eyeing the two chatting happily next to him. No, it would probably be better to stay away from that as well. Sunggyu’s gaze fell back on Kate who was now giggling at something that Nam Woohyun had said.  _ Does she like him? No, that doesn’t make sense...does it? _ Sunggyu thought back to what she had said earlier and how she defended the wolf. Kate had found him to be the most adorable being on the planet (in her own words). Sunggyu grimaced. Her crush was putting all of them in danger. Why didn’t she just go into the wolf’s den alone? Instead he and Sungyeol followed her like the sheep that they were. Well, Sunggyu was going to be the brave, black sheep and get them the Hell out.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and began typing out a text. After he sent it, within seconds, Kate’s phone rang. She quickly glanced at the phone, saw who it was from, and put the phone back down without reading the message. Sunggyu’s eyes twitched in annoyance as he watched his friend ignore his text and resume her conversation with the enemy. And so he cleared his throat, getting her attention. “Kate, you have a text,” he reminded her.

Kate’s smile turned sour. “I’ll answer it later,” she responded.

“It might be your mom,” Sunggyu argued before she could ignore him again. “You know how she thinks that you’re dead if you don’t respond right back.” He held her gaze for one, two, three seconds until she finally gave in.

“Fine,” she muttered under her breath. She then turned to Nam Woohyun, asking for his patience, “One moment.” She then grabbed her phone and read the message.

**Sunggyu: What’s Nam Woohyun doing here?**

Kate cast a curious glance up at her friend. With a smirk, she looked back down at her phone and typed out an answer:  **Eating lunch** . Sunggyu groaned. She really thought that she was being clever. But he wouldn’t let her go so easily. She could only brush him off with her wordplay for so long. Sunggyu wrote out a longer response, not giving her a way out.

When her phone rang, interrupting her conversation with the wolf again, she sighed heavily and clutched her phone tightly in her hand. “Oh, sorry,” she apologized through gritted teeth. “My mother is being a  _ pain _ right now.” She shot a glare at Sunggyu before reading his most recent message.

**Sunggyu: You know what I mean. Help me come up with a reason to escape. Say that I look sick or something.**

Kate looked up from her phone, to her friend. Sunggyu began acting already, pouting and rubbing his stomach as if it were bothering him. The smirk still hadn’t left her face. She was feeling mischievous. Sunggyu almost smiled, but then remembered that he had to be ‘sick.’ She was going to help him out of this mess.

But then Kate leaned forward, looking around Woohyun. Her eyes wide with concern. “Yeol, you look a bit pale,” she spoke, tone laced with worry. She got up from her seat and went over to him.

“Huh?” the three boys gasped in unison.

“Are you getting sick?” she asked as she sat down in the empty seat by Sungyeol. Kate then put the backs of her hands against his cheeks. “Oh my god! You’re burning up!”

“I AM?!” Sungyeol exclaimed. His hands flew up to feel his cheeks after Kate had removed hers. His eyebrows were furrowed as he tried to judge how warm they were. Kate nodded with a pout on her lips. She then grabbed a napkin off from the table and placed it under his nose.

“Your nose is running too,” she announced as she wiped away his already dry nose. Sunggyu scoffed, seeing Sungyeol tap his fingers against his nose. 

“Huh? I didn’t even feel it,” he murmured. His face was genuinely concerned now, which contrasted greatly against Kate’s obviously feigned worry. She shouldn’t take up acting anytime soon. Sunggyu could tell that she was moments away from breaking into a laugh. Kate must’ve sensed that she had reached her limit. She stood up from the table, tugging on Sungyeol’s sweater.

“Let’s get you some medicine,” she suggested. Kate bent down and circled her arms around him, pulling Sungyeol up with her. “Here, I’ll help you up.” And Sungyeol must’ve convinced himself that he was sick because he wobbled as he stood up and relied on his master for support. 

“My stomach does feel funny,” he mumbled, barely moving his lips as if talking was hard for him to do. He touched his stomach gingerly with his hands, careful on to put pressure on it.

Kate began dragging him away from the table and out of the cafeteria. “Does it?” she asked, looking down at the other’s stomach. Sungyeol nodded as he limped by her side. “Let’s get you something for that too.”

“K-kate! Sungyeol? YAH!” Sunggyu stammered after his friends as they abandoned him at the table as kibble for the wolf. “You can’t just…” Sunggyu hazard a glance at the other, still sitting across from him at the tabl. “You can’t just leave food on the table. That’s rude,” he altered what he was going to say. The last thing he needed to do was to provoke the other.

But surprisingly, Woohyun looked probably just as lost and confused as he did. “That’s odd. I thought Sungyeol looked fine,” he commented, shifting in his seat.

Sunggyu sighed and looked over at the entrance of the cafeteria. “Sungyeol is fine. Kate is going to be the one in trouble,” he remarked with a slight sneer, gripping tightly at his chopsticks.

“Huh? What did you say?” Woohyun asked.

Sunggyu waved his hand and dismissed the other, “Nothing.” He then brought the dishes next to Kate’s and Sungyeol’s abandon seats closer to him. At least they left the food behind. As long as he had his mouth full, he wouldn’t have to carry a conversation, and then he could excuse himself from the table to study. Right, if Kate wouldn’t help him, he could help himself and get out of this situation. He only needed to eat a few more things so that it didn’t look like he was intentionally avoiding the wolf...no matter how true it was.

However, the wolf was stalking him, looking for any opening. Of course, Nam Woohyun wouldn’t only let himself be ignored for so long. “So you already finished your service?” he asked as soon as Sunggyu swallowed down his food.

“Yea,” Sunggyu answered cautiously.

“I haven’t gone yet,” Woohyun replied.

Sunggyu smirked, his eyes looking for more food. “Good for you,” he muttered back.

“I’m thinking about applying soon.” That took Sunggyu by surprise. He stopped eating and finally met the other’s eyes. Woohyun’s hands were in his lap, and he seemed serious. Will this campus be free of his terror? “Do you think I should? You’re the only one I know who’s been discharged.”

Things started to make sense, why he was asked over and over again to have lunch. The kid wanted advice, and he came to Sunggyu for it. The golden boy with everyone wrapped around his finger came to little, humble Kim Sunggyu for help. Sunggyu was almost flattered, almost. “Is that why you wanted to eat with me? To ask me questions about the army?” Sunggyu asked.

Woohyun gave a short nod. “Sure.”

Sunggyu stood up straight and rolled up his sleeves. “Well…” he began his lecture that almost went on for half an hour about the army, the whole truth, how it was the best and worst thing to happen to Sunggyu. Because of it, Sunggyu felt like he finally became a man, but it also put him at a loss. He had a lot of catching up to do after being missing from the rest of the world for two years. At the end, he concluded that Woohyun should go after he graduates. He was already so close to completing his degree. It would be a shame to stop now. And Woohyun seemed to accept his advice. He thanked Sunggyu for his time and was the first to leave the table, saying that he had to finish writing a report. 

Sunggyu cleaned up the table with a smile on his face. The lunch was surprisingly nice. He wasn’t trapped and made a fool of by Nam Woohyun again. The wolf was docile, sitting and listening to Sunggyu attentively, not like he was waiting for an opening for an attack but because he actually wanted to know what Sunggyu had to say. And the lecture wasn’t so much a lecture as it was a conversation. Woohyun would interject with a question here or there, or he’d say a joke without breaking the flow of the conversation. It was oddly nice, and Woohyun wasn’t the only one learning from it. Sunggyu did too. He learned a little bit of the other’s interests and preferences, even his family (he had a brother and his family owned a restaurant).

_ Maybe Nam Woohyun isn’t all that bad. _

That thought stuck with Sunggyu for the rest of the day. While he was studying, he thought about how Nam Woohyun wasn’t all that bad. He left to go finish writing his report. That was somewhat responsible. Sunggyu wasn’t used to seeing a responsible Nam Woohyun. Maybe Sunggyu’s conversation about being ‘a man’ helped the younger turn over a new leaf and start taking charge of his life in a positive way. 

The thought also stuck with him when he was walking home late that night to his bus stop. He was feeling hungry and then suddenly remembered that Woohyun’s family owned a restaurant. What kind was it? Where was it? Sunggyu should’ve asked because now that’s all he wanted to know, him and his angry stomach. It’s not like Sunggyu had the money for it anyway. Knowing Nam Woohyun, it was probably something pretentious, expensive, and European. He had that air about him. And all Sunggyu could afford was a couple pieces of triangle kimbap from the convenience store. Actually, triangle kimbap sounded very good to him right now. Sunggyu backtracked and headed for the store a block away. As he was reaching for the door handle, Sunggyu caught something out of the corner of his eye. He took a couple of step backwards and kept blinking, just to make sure what he was seeing was real.

It was Nam Woohyun, seating by the counter alongside the window and eating alone. He had an open book and notes laid out in front of him, but he wasn’t reading. Instead, he was looking off into the distance while he was chewing on his cream bread. It was strange. Nam Woohyun didn’t have his usual smile on his face, nor was there the frown that Sunggyu had come to know (and thought was Woohyun’s natural state). Woohyun looked lost. His eyes kept moving around as if he were looking for something, anything.

Wolves, they don’t always travel in packs. Sometimes a wolf roamed the earth by himself, without a friend in sight. Nam Woohyun seemed like a lone wolf now. But that make him more dangerous or just pitiful? Sunggyu didn’t know.

But he knew that he had to get out of there. Sunggyu started to walk back to his bus stop with a still empty stomach. After taking a few steps, Sunggyu hazard a glance behind him, keeping a close eye on the predator behind him. And Nam Woohyun was staring straight back at him, tearing at the cream bread with his sharp teeth. It made Sunggyu’s blood run cold, and he quickened his step, nearly running to the bus stop as if he were going to miss the bus (and he almost did).

* * *

The next day, there was no one invading his lunch with Sungyeol and Kate. And Professor Kang had run over with her lecture, so by the time he met with the other two, they were nearly done eating. Afterwards, Sunggyu went to the library as usual, went to his usual table, and saw the usual people. It all left Sunggyu slightly disappointed. Was he expecting something unusual to happen? Yes, because that was the trend in his life recently. But now nothing was out of the ordinary, which seemed to put Sunggyu on edge. He kept looking over his shoulder, peering around every corner, searching for something or someone. But there was nothing to be found.

However, something found him once he left the library that afternoon. That something found him, jumped on his back, and wailed “OPPA!” Sunggyu didn’t even need to turned around to know that something was Myungeun. But how she got here and why, he didn’t know. So he peeled the teenager off of him and spun them around until they were face-to-face. 

“What are you doing here, Myungeun?” he asked, hands firmly on her shoulders.

And she looked up at him with those round and shining eyes, lips in a deep pout. Once Sunggyu noticed that her eyes were red and puffy, Myungeun hung her head. “I failed,” she mumbled, barely moving her lips. 

“You failed an audition?” 

“Eung,” Myungeun grunted as she hung even lower, nearly bent in half and leaning her head against Sunggyu’s chest. 

Sunggyu chuckled and placed his hand on her head, gently raising it back up so that they were looking at each other. “At least you’re trying,” he offered as comfort (Sunggyu wasn’t too good at it). But he was proud that Myungeun was actually putting herself out there and not singing on the doorsteps with her brother. She was already closer to achieving her dream (although Sunggyu was still in doubt about how well she could actually sing). 

Myungeun wasn’t cheered up by his words. She groaned loudly and hung her head again. “I tried, and I failed. I’m never trying again,” she grumbled. 

Well, that wasn’t good. Sunggyu only made her feel worse. And now, Myungeun was whimpering loudly, too loudly. She was drawing stares from passerbys. Sunggyu nervously looked around and bowed his head in apology to the people who passed by. Why? Why did Myungeun come to him? Myungsoo, her actual brother, would be infinitely better at this. He babied her. He could handle her whines. Sunggyu was just looking for a way to make her stop (and not necessarily to make things better). 

“Ice cream! I’ll get you ice cream,” Sunggyu offered, raising his voice to be heard over her moaning. Myungeun finally raised her head and nodded slowly. Sunggyu sighed in relief as he patted her head. “Was that all you wanted?”

“Yes,” Myungeun replied with a slight smile. “Oh!” she gasped. Her eyes were wide with surprise, and she got on her tiptoes in order to peer over Sunggyu’s shoulder. “OPPA!” she squealed, almost right into Sunggyu’s ear.

Sunggyu covered his hands over his ears and turned around to face what he expected to be Myungsoo. “Huh?” Sunggyu lowered his hands and found himself staring straight at…“Nam Woohyun?” He whipped his head back to the teenager. “You know him?”

Myungeun might’ve ignored Sunggyu, but she still answered his question. She skirted around Sunggyu and ran up to Nam Woohyun. “Oppa!” Myungeun exclaimed. She knew the wolf all right, and now she was acting like his little up. She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, and he responded like in return. “We were about to get ice cream. Do you want to come with us?”

Nam Woohyun raised his gaze and met Sunggyu’s. His face went from smiling to flat and expressionless. His lip twitched again (into almost a sneer) and then it pulled up into a grin as he looked back down at Myungeun. “Sure, let’s go!”

If yesterday’s lunch was awkward, this was even worse. The three of them were sitting on a bench, Myungeun in between the boys. The three of them were eating ice cream that Sunggyu had bought. He had just bought ice cream for his neighbor’s sister and his enemy, and now they were sitting on the bench like a happy threesome. Sunggyu sighed as he stared at his melting ice cream cone. What kind of luck was this?

And those two ice cream leeches were just chatting amongst themselves, ignoring him. Myungeun seemed to only have eyes for Nam Woohyun. And he was doting on her like Myungsoo would, like he was her own brother. It was obvious that they have known each other for a very long time.

“Our little Myungeunnie failed an audition? Unbelievable,” Woohyun lamented. 

“It is!” Myungeun chimed in. “I tried my best, but I still failed.”

Sunggyu bit his tongue, trying his best to not say the words threatening to jump off of his tongue. Indeed, he wasn’t the right person to lift up the spirits of a teenage girl, but Woohyun might just be. 

“It must’ve been the song you sang. It didn’t show off your voice the best,” Woohyun reasoned. “What did you sing?”

“I’ll sing it for you, and you can judge,” Myungeun offered, getting all excited to show off to her ‘oppa.’ She then took in a deep breath and warmed up her voice. When she deemed it ready, she began to sing the song. But her voice cracked at the first note. She immediately stopped and buried her face in her hands, completely embarrassed. The two boys looked at each other and burst out into a laugh.

“I think I know why you might’ve failed,” Sunggyu teased her.

Myungeun raised her head from her hands and glared at him. “I wasn’t like that at the audition,” she fought back. “I was good. I’m just nervous right now.”

Woohyun nudged her. “Why? Do I make you nervous?” he joked. He dug his finger into her cheek.

“N-no,” Myungeun denied and slapped his hand away. She then stood up from the bench and turned towards the two men. “I’m not nervous!”

“But you said—”

Myungeun interrupted them with a stamp of her foot. “Forget what I said,” she huffed. “I’m going home. You two are mean,” she announced before whipping back around and stomping her way back home with an ice cream cone still in hand.

Sunggyu laughed until he heard another laugh along with him. He looked out of the corner of his eye at the man next to him. He and Nam Woohyun were alone together again. Woohyun’s eyes fell on his, and the laughter died down. Now they were just staring at each other.  _ Well, this is sufficiently awkward _ , Sunggyu thought as he stood up. “I should walk her home...Myungeun. She’s my neighbor,” he stumbled his way through an (too lengthy) explanation. 

Woohyun nodded, still sitting down. “Okay.”

Sunggyu waved at him. “Goodbye, Nam Woohyun,” he said before turning around and following the miffed teen. However, he didn’t get too far before casting one last look back at the man on the bench because as he was leaving, Nam Woohyun called to him in a teasing voice, like he’d used with Myungeun:

“Goodbye, Kim Sunggyu.”

* * *

Sunggyu easily caught up to Myungeun. She was shuffling her feet, walking slowly as she muttered under her breath. “Are you cursing me?” Sunggyu asked once he was by her side.

“Yes,” Myungeun answered honestly and narrowed her eyes on him. “And Woohyun-oppa. You two are mean. I just failed my audition, and all you two do is tease me.” 

“I bought you ice cream,” Sunggyu pointed out. 

Myungeun forced a pout on her lips and even trembled a little bit. “I’d feel even better if I had chicken to go along with it,” she whined. 

“Chicken?” Sunggyu repeated with an amused smile. Myungeun nodded, widening her once narrowed eyes to appeal to him. And she won him over. Even though she was exaggerating her sadness, Sunggyu knew that the teenager was still feeling quite low. And although he questioned her singing, he didn’t want her to give up after just one try. She was cute, and if Sunggyu fell for her aegyo, others would too. You don’t always need to know how to sing to be an idol. Sometimes you just need the drive. “Okay, I’ll get you chicken if you go to another audition. Promise?” he laid out the terms and extended his pinky towards her.

“Promise,” Myungeun immediately responded back, wrapping her pinky around his. “There’s an open casting next week. I guess that I’ll go to that.” She then picked up her step. They were at the bottom of the hill that their building was on, but you could hear the strumming of guitar strings from even there. Myungsoo was on his beloved steps, playing his songs again. Myungeun ran up the hill and into the comfort of her brother’s arms, or so Sunggyu thought. And when he reached their building, he saw that his guess was correct. Myungsoo was cradling his sister in his arms with his guitar laid to the side. Sunggyu sighed at the sight and shook his head. Myungsoo was probably the reason why Myungeun liked being babied and was so needy. He was too lenient and giving with her. 

His baby sister then raised her head from his shoulder. “Oppa! You’ll never guess who I just ran into!” she suddenly remembered.

“Hm,” Myungsoo hummed in thought. “Mom?” he guessed. Myungeun shook her head. “Jisoo-ssi?” She shook her head again. “Taek-ie? Song Joongki? Yoo Jaesuk?” his guesses were getting more and more ridiculous, so Myungeun finally put an end to the game.

“No, Woohyun-oppa!” she answered with a laugh.

Myungsoo’s jaw dropped. He looked up at Sunggyu, stunned. “Oh,” was all he could say.

* * *

The three of them were in the Myungs’ apartment. Myungeun was sitting at the table, happily munching on her chicken. Sunggyu and Myungsoo were sitting on the couch. Myungsoo didn’t believe that they knew the same Nam Woohyun, and so Sunggyu pulled out his phone and shared the picture that Kate had taken of them yesterday.

Myungsoo stared intently at the picture for a few seconds and then turned towards the elder. “Are you guys dating?” he suddenly asked.

Sunggyu narrowed his eyes on the other and cocked his head.  _ That’s a weird assumption to make from that picture _ , he thought as he gazed over Myungsoo’s shoulder at the photo. Sunggyu wasn’t even smiling (or have his eyes opened fully), and Nam Woohyun looked just as uncomfortable. They were also as far apart as the frame (and Kate) would allow. “No, of course not,” Sunggyu replied. He cocked his head again. Myungsoo was a strange one.

“Oh where are your eyes?!” Myungsoo gasped. He then looked up at the real Sunggyu and pointed at his face. “Ah! They are actually like that.” He sputtered into a laugh as Sunggyu’s scowl deepened. “It’s a joke, hyung. A joke,” he insisted. “Anyone can see that you have eyes.  _ Right _ there.”

Sunggyu widened his eyes a bit, proving that they were there, and tore the phone away from Myungsoo’s hands. ”Give me that,” he grumbled and stuffed the phone back into the pocket of his hoodie. “How do you know Nam Woohyun anyway?” he tried to put their conversation back on track after Myungsoo derailed it by focusing on his eyes (maybe Myungsoo did like them).

Myungsoo let out a deep breath and leaned back onto the couch, his head leaning against the top of the backrest. “We grew up together,” he revealed. “We lived on the same block in Ssangmundong for a few years. He lived just across the street. But I haven’t seen him since high school. His family moved into another house.”

Sunggyu nodded. The little block in Ssangmundong was probably too small for the Nam family. They must’ve moved into a bigger home in a richer part of the city, a place better suited for their fancy restaurant. But before that happened, Nam Woohyun was just a little pup, playing with Myungsoo and Myungeun, who were now just scraping by and mooching off of Sunggyu (who was not much more well off himself). It was hard to think that these three were ever living at the same place at the same time. They seemed to be of different worlds.

“How was he?” Sunggyu asked, his curiosity running away with him. “How was Nam Woohyun as a kid?”

“He was nice. A real good hyung, but…” Myungsoo paused and chuckled a bit. “But he can be a jerk sometimes.”

“Ah!” Sunggyu nodded along. He knew it. Nam Woohyun was a jerk, but no one else had believed it. Everyone had told him that he was wrong. Now, however, he had validation from someone who grew up with the wolf. Sunggyu had been right all along, but why did he feel so uneasy right now? He should be smug, happy. He wasn’t. He was almost sad to be proven right. Maybe he himself had begun to believe that Nam Woohyun was a sheep in wolf’s clothing. But the wolf was a wolf.

“He broke my hand.”

“What?!” Sunggyu exclaimed. His eyes went straight to Myungsoo’s hand, ignoring all else. It did look a bit beaten up, even a finger was crooked. 

“My finger broke too,” Myungsoo explained as he raised his hand to look at it. When he moved it, his face scrunched up.  _ Poor kid _ , Sunggyu thought as he raised his gaze from the hand to the man’s face. No one deserved such cruelty. And Nam Woohyun would’ve been young himself when it happened. He was a menace to society from day one. “Yah!” Myungsoo yelped, staring at his sister. He then turned to Sunggyu and pouted. “It still hurts sometimes.”

Sunggyu could tell. Myungsoo probably bore more scars than just those on his hand. Sunggyu took that poor hand and placed it in his own, warming them with his touch. “That’s awful,” he murmured, voice as gentle as his hands rubbing Myungsoo’s.   
“Yea, I guess it is,” Myungsoo said, pulling his hand away from the other’s grasp. Sunggyu blinked up at him in surprise. Did he hurt him? Was his hand still that tender to the touch? Sunggyu silently reprimanded himself for hurting Myungsoo again as the other went to join his sister by the table, stealing some of her chicken (she couldn’t finish a whole box on her own anyway). Sunggyu watched the siblings eat and chat about the days when lived in Ssangmundong, but he wasn’t listening. His mind was still reeling and circling around one thought:

_ Nam Woohyun, that jerk. _

* * *

Luckily for Sunggyu, his fall break had just started, and he wouldn’t have to see the jerk for a month. He didn’t have to see anybody for a week. He could just lock himself in his room and sleep his break away between bouts of studying. However, those plans were dashed when he opened up his email the first day of his break. Professor Kang was looking for an R.A. to help make an index for her book. It would be tedious work, but it paid well. And Sunggyu was her first choice as an assistant because not only he was her best student but he also came  _ highly _ recommended. He grinned to himself. He was her top student once again and was highly recommended (by who? She didn’t say, but did it matter?). Also this opportunity would be well worth the sleep that he would miss out on over break, not only for the money but for the connections as well. And if he was really lucky, Professor Kang would even add his name to the book.

So Sunggyu spent his first day of his break on campus and in his teacher’s office, sitting at a small table surrounded by books (she also needed him to check her citations). He was in the middle of flipping between pages in the manuscript when there was a knock at the door. 

“Professor?”

Sunggyu froze. He knew that voice all too well, from class, from when he’d suddenly pounce into Sunggyu’s life (like right now). Sunggyu slowly raised his eyes and saw Nam Woohyun standing in the doorway. 

“Nam Woohyun-ssi,” he greeted as coolly as he could, trying to cover up his surprise. He dropped his gaze back down to his book.

But the man wasn’t someone who could ignored so easily. “Kim Sunggyu-ssi,” Woohyun greeted back as he walked into the room. “Where is the professor?”

“Out,” Sunggyu answered curtly. Professor Kang was coming back. She was only making copies over in the next room, but Nam Woohyun didn’t need to know that. Nam Woohyun needed to leave.

“Why are you here and she’s not?” Woohyun asked. Much to Sunggyu’s dismay, the man didn’t leave and only stepped further into the room, closer to him. “Do you have a meeting with her? Is she your advisor?”

Sunggyu closed the book and looked up at the other with a smug smile stretched across his face. He’d almost forgotten. He’d reclaimed his top spot in class from none other than Nam Woohyun, which would make this even sweeter. “I’m her research assistant. I was  _ highly _ recommended,” he bragged. 

Woohyun’s smile twitched, almost falling into a frown (or was it almost getting bigger). “Is that so?” he replied.

“Yes,” Sunggyu chirped back, grinning wider than ever. But it was too wide, so he coughed and restrained himself a little. Now scowling, he focused back on the man in front of him. “What are  _ you _ doing here?”

“I do favors for Professor Kang,” Woohyun answered.  _ Well, that was vague _ . 

Sunggyu raised an eyebrow. “What kind of favors?” 

Before Woohyun could even open his mouth to answer (because he spent a good amount of time smiling coyly at the other), Professor Kang entered the room with a fresh stack of papers that she plopped on the already crowded table Sunggyu was sitting at. “Check the citations in this chapter when you’re done,” she commanded. She then spun on her heels, hair whipping in the air as if it were some shampoo commercial. “Ah, Woohyun-ssi, you came. Are you ready for our  _ meeting _ ?” Sunggyu perked his head up. That sounded suggestive. He leaned over on the side of his chair, nearly falling out, in order to catch a good glimpse of the wolf in action.

Nam Woohyun nodded and patted his bag. “I brought the stuff. I’m ready if you are,” he responded. His shifted his gaze from the professor to Sunggyu, and he (freaking) winked. 

“Good,” Professor Kang said as she gathered her things. “Sunggyu-ssi, I will be back in an hour or so.” 

_ That’s a peculiar amount of time _ . “Oh okay,” Sunggyu stammered as his professor headed out the door. 

Nam Woohyun followed behind and was closing the door. Before the door fully shut, he poked his head through the small space. “Goodbye, Kim Sunggyu,” he spoke. Then the door clicked closed. 

Sunggyu looked around the room, mouth agape and eyes wide as he tried to process everything that had happened. There was only one conclusion, one reason behind all of this. “Holy shit, Nam Woohyun is having an affair with Professor Kang,” he muttered aloud. He then gasped and clamped his hands over his mouth in case anyone had heard him. This was a secret that was dangerous and that he personally never wanted to know. But he could never forget it now. In fact, it was all he could think about right now, and not the work literally laying right in front of him. Was that how Nam Woohyun was doing so well in class? Was he getting preferential treatment? Then he had a sudden thought that made him drop the papers all over the floor. What if Nam Woohyun was the one who highly recommended him? And he did so during one of their...trysts? But why would he?

“Because I know,” Sunggyu muttered under his breath as he gathered the papers up from off the floor. Because he already knew the true nature of Nam Woohyun, the beast stalking the campus and picking off the sheep-like students one by one. He knew of Myungsoo and Myungeun too, who knew about Woohyun’s past. Was this supposed to be some sort of ‘hush money,’ making Sunggyu feel obligated to keep his mouth shut?

Sunggyu sighed. Even if he were to tell people, no one would ever believe him. He felt like Cassandra, and Woohyun was Apollo, giving him all this knowledge that he couldn’t share with others and forcing Sunggyu to carry the burden all by himself. Nam Woohyun was a jerk.

* * *

Since Sunggyu’s mind was preoccupied by the events of that afternoon, it took him awhile to realize that he was being followed. It was a rustling in the bushes next to him that gave the stalker away. Sunggyu’s head snapped in the direction of the noise, and a girl dressed in sequins from head to toe squealed and ducked behind the bushes again. Inha was at it again. Sunggyu sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. What should he do? Call her out? Ignore her? Sunggyu went with the latter and continued to ignore her. But he picked up his pace as he walked. The rustling followed him and now even twigs were snapping as Inha was running through the bushes to keep up with him. Unfortunately, the row of bushes was ending soon, and he’d end up face-to-face with the crazy woman in the matter of seconds. Fortunately, the convenience store was also at the end of the row. Sunggyu, trying to catch Inha off guard, broke into a sprint and ducked into the store. Once the door shut behind him, Sunggyu leaned against the door, panting and clutching his heart.

“What are you doing?”

“ACK!” Sunggyu yelped and jumped away from the door. “Don’t...scare...me...like that,” he wheezed in between breaths. 

Nam Woohyun spun in his chair, turning towards him. He chuckled. “I didn’t think you’d scare so easily,” he remarked before biting into the sausage in his hands.

“Well I do,” Sunggyu retorted, slowly regaining composure, and that’s when he finally got a good look at the other. He tilted his head, scanning Nam Woohyun from head to toe. “What are you wearing?”

“This?” Woohyun asked as he tugged on his jersey. “This is a soccer referee uniform. Why do you think I wear it?”

Sunggyu’s conclusion from that afternoon flashed across his mind: Woohyun with Professor Kang in the...He then violently shook that thought out of his head. “I don’t know. I don’t wanna know,” he stammered. 

“Suit yourself,” Woohyun responded, looking at Sunggyu out of the corner of his eye as he turned back around to face the window. “Oh my god!” he shouted, nearly falling out of his chair. He gripped the countertop, catching himself and pulling himself back up.

“What? What? What?” Sunggyu blubbered as he came right over. “HOLY!” he covered his mouth before he could complete the swear. Inha was standing outside of the window with her face pressed against the glass, searching the room for Sunggyu. And when the two of them made eye contact, they both dropped down into a crouch onto the floor, which made Woohyun laugh.

And while laughing, he knocked on the glass. “Yah, come in or leave,” he commanded the stalker. Inha must’ve heard and obeyed because a few seconds later, Woohyun was patting Sunggyu’s back and saying, “The coast is clear.”

Slowly, Sunggyu rose back onto his feet. He wasn’t entirely trusting of Woohyun, so he peered over the countertop for a few seconds, checking the scene for himself. Once he saw that it was Inha-free, Sunggyu bolted upright and heaved a sigh of relief. He then sat in the chair next to Woohyun. “Thanks,” he muttered.

“Inha-noona is still following you?” Woohyun asked. Sunggyu didn’t even bother answering because it was obvious. Woohyun clicked his tongue. “I  _ really _ thought she’d give up by now.”

Sunggyu breathed in deeply again. “Well, she  _ really _ likes me,” he said in resignation. 

“Do you like her?”

Sunggyu looked at the other as if he were crazy (and maybe he was because he was wearing a ref’s uniform while eating sausages). “Inha?” Sunggyu asked in disbelief. Woohyun nodded, which made Sunggyu groan, “Oh god no. She’s not my style.”

Now it was Woohyun’s turn to look at the other incredulously. After scanning him from top to bottom, Woohyun fought back, “You have style?!” But he could only maintain his serious expression for a second before a smile cracked across his face, and he bursted into a laugh.

Sunggyu didn’t find any of that amusing. His style was just fine. And he was comfortable. Wasn’t that all that really mattered? Sunggyu scoffed. He wasn’t going to take this dis from someone in a soccer jersey. “Myungsoo was right. You can be a jerk.”

“Ah,” Woohyun muttered with his mouth full of food. “So you guys talked about me.”

Sunggyu nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. “Yea, I know  _ all _ about you now,” he responded.

“Uh.” Woohyun looked nervous, and the corner of his smile twitched again. “You do?” 

“You broke his hand!” Sunggyu shouted, unable to keep that one secret hidden inside any longer.

But Woohyun reaction wasn’t what he expected. Instead of looking guilty, a smirk spread across Woohyun’s face as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Aish. Is he still blaming me for that? It was an accident!” he explained. “Myungsoo must’ve warped his memory and made me the bad guy.” Woohyun then raised his arms in the air in defeat. “Fine. I’ll be the bad guy. It was years ago anyway. Not like it matters now.”

Sunggyu scoffed. “He says that it still hurts,” he pointed out. There were serious consequences to his actions, and Woohyun needed to know that. Sunggyu didn’t like how casually Woohyun was handling this, like his past actions didn’t matter.

“What?” There it was, the look of guilt that Sunggyu was looking for. It was just a flash of an expression, but it was enough. Nam Woohyun wasn’t completely heartless. “Does it ache whenever rain is about to come? I’ve always wanted that. It’s kinda like a superpower, isn’t it?” Or maybe he was. Every time Sunggyu thought that he figured Nam Woohyun out, the wolf would bark out something unexpected like that.

“You...you’re weird,” Sunggyu concluded. He had to come to terms with it. He didn’t know Nam Woohyun  _ that _ well at all. Sunggyu couldn’t even tell what he thought about the other any longer (except that he was getting more comfortable being around the wolf).

Woohyun gave the other a half-smile, only letting the other have a peek at how he felt. “So you finally noticed,” he mumbled.

“Noticed what?”

“Me,” Woohyun answered and a whole grin spread across his face. He then got up from his seat and gathered up his trash. “I have to go. My bus is leaving soon,” he announced. “Goodbye, Kim Sunggyu.”

“Bye, Nam Woohyun,” Sunggyu responded back, waving at the other until he was out of sight. The wolf’s smile broadened until his fangs flashed under the streetlamps.

Sunggyu then looked at his waving hand and groaned, pulling the hand down onto the countertop. “Get a hold of yourself. You can’t fall for that smile.”

* * *

For the rest of the break, Sunggyu didn’t see Nam Woohyun or his troublesome smile again. But he did see Professor Kang, too much of Professor Kang after spending hours in her office as he assistant. And just because his break was over, didn’t mean that his assistantship came to an end. Now Sunggyu had to sit in her office every morning, helping with her book, and every afternoon, he’d have to listen to her lecture in class. Sunggyu almost regretted taking the position, almost. At least some good came out of that week in Professor Kang’s office. He got to know his TA better. And although the TA was scatterbrained (losing things ended up being a habit that he had), he did try to make up for it. He was the one who recommended Sunggyu for the job.

And so, on the first day back from break, Sunggyu walked back onto campus feeling as if he didn’t have a break at all. Kate and Sungyeol, on the other hand, looked refreshed and had a spring in their step. Kate talked about how she and her mother went to the beach for a few days. Sungyeol talked about how he helped his parents out at their shop. And all Sunggyu could talk about were the papercuts that he’d gotten from flipping through Kang’s book endlessly. Those two were also excited about starting classes again, but Sunggyu wasn’t. He had to go stare at the face which he stared at all last week. 

Sunggyu shuffled his feet as he entered the lecture room, and he fell into his seat as if it were one of the last days of finals week rather than the first day back from a break. He laid his head on the desk, groaning as the other students filed in. Someone sat down beside him, and he didn’t even bother to see who it was. He just moaned and turned his head to the other  side, towards the door. And that was when he saw something unusual.

It was him. But it wasn’t him because Sunggyu was him. Sunggyu raised his head and shook it, trying to get the contents of his head back in order. But when he opened his eyes, he still saw the same thing: his own reflection. And his reflection sat down in front of him. The man in front of him was wearing a black beanie, with baggy, black shorts, and a oversized black hoodie with a graphic print on it. But the real kicker was the long, plain jacket that the man threw onto the back of his chair. Sunggyu looked down at himself. He was wearing that jacket right now. Hell, he was practically wearing the same outfit.

“Wow!” someone muttered besides him. Sunggyu craned his neck and saw that it was none other than Nam Woohyun sitting besides him. “He looks just like you,” Woohyun whispered with a chuckle. “Maybe you do have style.” 

“Of course,” was all that Sunggyu could manage to say in response. He cocked his head and stared at the man in front of him. Who are you?

Whoever it was, he was answering every, single question that Professor Kang posed. Sunggyu frowned. That was normally  _ him _ who did that. But Sunggyu’s doppleganger was faster than he was and raised his hand first. What sort of reflection was faster than the person casting it? 

Sunggyu got his answer towards the end of class, when Professor Kang was wrapping things up. “Good work today, everybody,” she announced. Her gaze then dropped to the doppleganger. “Especially you, Howon-ssi.” 

“Howon?” Sunggyu muttered underneath his breath. Why did that name sound so familiar? The doppleganger then turned around and faced the original.  _ It’s him! Ho-person!  _

Howon (apparently) raised his hand and waved to Sunggyu. “Hey, hyung! How was your break?” he asked.

“Fine,” Sunggyu muttered in response, too stunned to say much more.

One of their classmates, Dahyun, walked up to Howon. “I’ve never heard you talk so much,” she praised the doppleganger. 

“Yea, my parents gave me this pretty voice so I thought that I might as well use it,” Howon joked. Sunggyu perked up and cocked an eyebrow.  _ He  _ was the one that normally said comments like that. This kid was stealing his jokes too. “That and my participation grade was low,” Howon added as he stood up from his chair. 

“Hoya!” someone shouted from behind Sunggyu. Now both of his eyebrows arched upwards. Sunggyu was the one who came up with that nickname...by accident. How did other people know about it? Dongwoo, who called out to him earlier, walked down the rows until he was next to Howon. “Let’s eat lunch together,” he suggested. Lunch! That was another thing that Sunggyu did (along with most people on the planet). 

“I can’t. I’m meeting with someone,” Howon/Hoya/copycat replied. His ears grew hot and the redness was slowly spreading to his cheeks too.

Dongwoo laughed and put his arm around the other. “Is it a girl? Did you go and get yourself a girlfriend over the break?” he asked in a teasing voice.

“Oh yea,” Hoya stammered out awkwardly. 

“Oh! Wow!” Dahyun exclaimed as she clapped excitedly. “Hoya’s got himself a girlfriend! Who is it?” 

Hoya rubbed the back of his neck anxiously as he responded, “Her name is...K..Karen and she’s from...Canada?” Sunggyu scoffed at that. If this Ho-man was going to copy his life, he might as well do it right.  _ Her name is Kate and she’s from America, _ Sunggyu sneered in his head.  _ He’s even trying to steal my friends _ . 

“Wah! A foreigner?” Dongwoo asked in amazement.

Hoya nodded, more confident about his answer this time. “Yes.” 

“HoYA!” Sunggyu winced after hearing that voice. Of course it was only moments until Nam Woohyun entered himself into this whole debacle. Woohyun slid over his desk and stood up next to Hoya. He pulled the plaid jacket off from Hoya’s chair. “That’s a cool jacket. Can I try it on?” he asked, even though he was already trying it on. 

“Oh, sure,” Hoya mumbled in reply, given no choice.

“Nice!” Woohyun praised as he slid the coat on. It was a little large for his frame, and his hands were gripping at the edges of the too-long sleeves. “How does it look? Good, right? I’m handsome? Su—Shit!” In the middle of his self-praise, Woohyun had raised his arm to do something, but because he was gripping the end of the sleeve and had raised his arm too quickly, a tear formed at the armpit, ruining Hoya’s copycat coat. 

Sunggyu smirked. At least that was one thing Hoya couldn’t copy anymore.  _ Thank you, Nam Woohyun. _

* * *

Along with Professor Kang, there was one other person that Sunggyu kept seeing: Inha. This time, she wasn’t even bothering to hide. She was just walking alongside Sunggyu in silence, as if this was completely normal for the both of them. “Inha-ssi, what are you doing?” Sunggyu finally asked, not being able to take this anymore.

“Walking to my bus stop,” she answered. “We take the same bus.”

“I’m going to the library though,” Sunggyu retorted.

Inha clapped her hands together. “Good idea! We are students, and students should study. Right, oppa! Let’s go to the library and have a study date. Call!” she exclaimed, getting all excited by herself. 

Sunggyu stopped and grabbed the back of Inha’s collar so that she’d stop with him. She made a slight gagging sound, but it soon turned into a giggle as she twisted around to face him. “I don’t want to go to the library with you. Study by myself,” he tried to turn her down nicely.

“Okay,” Inha agreed, nodding along. “Let’s study by ourselves but sitting right next to each other. I can do that.”

“NO!” Sunggyu huffed, stamping his foot. “I’m going to the library by myself, and you go anywhere else but the library,” he laid out the terms for her as clear as the day.

“Ah,” Inha muttered, still nodding her head like a bobblehead doll. “Woohyun warned me about this. He said that you like to play hard to get. And that when you say ‘no,’ you usually mean ‘yes,’” she explained. Inha then wrapped her arms around Sunggyu’s. “So I’m not going to leave your side because that’s what you really want.” 

“Noooooooo!” Sunggyu whined, trying to shake her off.

“Yes!” Inha squealed happily, clinging on more tightly. “I’m never letting you go! Don’t worry!”

“Hey! You said that you were going to be in the library a half an hour ago. What happened?”

“Kate!” Sunggyu called out to his friend in desperation. She was walking up to the couple from the entrance of the library, eyeing both of them curiously. “I got a little caught up with something,” he said nodding over to Inha.

Inha wasn’t very happy about all of this. “Who’s she?” she asked Sunggyu, digging her fingernails into his arm. “Why are you going to the library with her? The library is  _ our _ place!”

“Me?” Kate asked, pointing to herself. “I’m Kate. His friend. We’ve actually met before...”

“Friend?” Inha repeated, ignoring whatever else Kate had said. Kate nodded, which made Inha beam in delight. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and placed a hand over her heart as she introduced herself (yet again) to Kate. “Well, I’m his  _ girlfriend _ .”

Kate clapped her hands together and then pointed at Inha. “Oh so this is stalker that you were talking about!” she exclaimed happily, as if this was a good thing.

“Oppa talks about me?” Inha sounded besides herself with glee.

“Aish!” Sunggyu cursed as he tried to shrug off Inha for the hundredth time. “Don’t give her ideas. You’re starting to act like Nam Woohyun,” he reprimanded his friend.

“What? Me?” Kate asked in disbelief. She then looked off into the distance as she mumbled under her breath, “It’s not like Sungyeol and I hang out with Nam Woohyun behind your back or anything.”

“What?”

“Nothing,” Kate dismissed him. Instead, she leaned in and whispered loudly into Sunggyu’s ear (she was always awful at whispering), “So you want to get rid of the girl?” 

“Yes,” Sunggyu didn’t even need to think about that.

“Okay,” Kate whispered back and winked at him.

That wink made him nervous. “Wait! What are you going to do?” Sunggyu stammered, second-guessing his decision.

“I’m going to tell her the truth, like you should have ages ago,” Kate clarified. And Sunggyu gulped. He didn’t think that he was ready for that, and he wasn’t sure if Inha was the right person to tell _the_ _truth_ to. “He’s...not interested,” Kate explained to Inha. And Sunggyu sighed in relief that it was all she had said.

“B-but Woohyun…” Inha stuttered as her gaze darted everywhere, trying to figure things out. But then it fell on Kate, and she smirked knowingly. “Oh, I see what’s going on. You like Sunggyu too!”

“Me? Like him? This kid?” Kate scoffed, wagging her finger in Sunggyu’s face. Sunggyu frowned and batted her finger away. He didn’t like how she was on the verge of laughing at that idea, not at all.

“You don’t, do you?”

The three of them whipped their heads over to the side. Sungyeol was walking up to them now, with a greatly concerned look on his face, his gaze fixed solely on Kate. “Do you like Sunggyu?” he posed the question more directly.

“No,” Kate quickly answered her slave. She then turned to Inha with a red face. “I really don’t. We’re  _ just _ friends. Like Sungyeol and I,” she clarified.

Sungyeol chuckled dryly. “ _ Just  _ friends?” he repeated.

“Then you shouldn’t have a problem with me dating him,” Inha retorted and stuck out her tongue at Kate.

“You can’t!” Kate lamely argued, stamping her foot in frustration.

Sungyeol placed a hand on Kate’s shoulder. “Why can’t she?” he challenged.

“Because I don’t want to!” Sunggyu shouted on the top of his lungs. All three of them finally looked at him. “Yea, I’m still here,” he announced. Inha tightened her grip on his arm, showing that she didn’t forget him. Sunggyu yanked his arm from her grip, finally freeing himself, and then he placed both of his hand on her shoulders, looking her straight in the eye.  _ Maybe this will work. _ “Look, you can like me. I can’t help that. But don’t expect me to like you back, ever. I can’t help that either. You’re just...not my type. People won’t love you just because you love them. That’s not how it works,” Sunggyu tried to explain it to her as best he could.

“B-but…” Sunggyu sighed. He should’ve known that she wouldn’t stop without putting up a fight. However, no matter how long he waited, that’s all she could say, “But...but,” like a broken record.

“Inha, find someone who loves you more than you love them,” he advised her, patting her on the shoulder before turning to leave. He could still squeeze in a good hour or two of studying before going home. But Sunggyu stopped before he could even take another step. He had a feeling that he wouldn’t get any studying done tonight.

“Are we really  _ just _ friends?” Sungyeol asked Kate.

She shook her head that was hanging. Her gaze was fixed on their feet until she raised it quickly to look at the other’s face. “You’re my slave,” she replied.

“Stop it,” Sungyeol snapped. Sunggyu had never heard him so stern. Kate’s eyes fell again to the floor. “Stop with this whole slave business,” he insisted.

“Why?” Kate argued. “It’s fun,” her voice was low, almost inaudible.

But Sungyeol heard it, loud and clear. “Because I want to be serious for a change,” he responded. He tilted his head, trying to catch her gaze, but she avoided him. Sungyeol sighed, frustrated. “And you, you always try to turn everything into a joke when it gets too close or too real. Can we just have an honest conversation for once about this?” he asked. “Please?”

Kate finally raised her head, but her eyes didn’t fall on Sungyeol. She was looking straight at Sunggyu. “Sunggyu can hear,” she mumbled.

“Why does that matter?” Sungyeol snapped back. Kate chewed on her lip as she shifted her gaze back to Sungyeol, thinking it over but still saying nothing. And that’s when Sungyeol finally lost his patience. “Fine, if you really want to be with Sunggyu, you can. I’m leaving,” he announced, turned, and left, not even looking back at her or Sunggyu.

But Kate’s eyes stayed on Sungyeol back, even when it was barely visible anymore.

Cautiously, Sunggyu inched closer to her. She didn’t move, so he took it as a good sign. “Kate…” he started, but he didn’t know what else to say. So he just ended it right there.

“I’m fine. I’m fine,” she muttered as she slowly turned to her old friend. Her smile was small, forced and the corners of her lips were twitching, threatening to fall. She sniffed loudly before asking, “Do you want to get anything to eat? I’m hungry.”

Sunggyu was right. He was done studying for the day. “Yea, sure. Anything you want.”

* * *

As it would turn out, Kate didn’t even want food, or at least she wasn’t acting like it. She guzzled down one bottle of soju already, which was an entire bottle ahead of Sunggyu already. He hadn’t even touched his first glass. So Kate took it and drained it for him. When she handed him the empty glass, Sunggyu sighed. “Thanks,” voice thick with sarcasm. Kate nodded, her head bobbing more than it should. She was already very tipsy. Too tipsy. She was red in the face, and her eyelids were drooping. One more glass, and she might be passed out on the table.

So Sunggyu took the bottle of water at their table and filled the empty soju bottle with water. After he was done, he handed it over to Kate. “Got you another bottle,” he lied.

“You’re the best,” Kate praised, taking the bottle from him with both of her hands. She was already pouring herself another glass.

Sunggyu sighed yet again as he watched her. “Kate, what are you doing?” he asked.

“Drinking,” she answered curtly (Sunggyu expected that answer), and she took a sip from her glass. “AH! That’s good. That’s smooth. Like drinking water.”

“Yea, funny how that is,” he replied dryly. Right now wasn’t the time to have a serious conversation with her. She need to stew in her own thoughts for awhile until she figured things out. Knowing her, she was probably drinking her way into an epiphany. And it would be Sunggyu’s job to make sure that she didn’t kill herself in the process. But above all, they needed food. 

“I’ll go and order some food, okay? Don’t drink all of this,” he told her, pointing at the bottle.

“Can’t make any promises,” Kate chirped back, pouring herself a second glass of water. Sunggyu shook his head at her and left to go order some food. 

It took longer than he expected. The line was long, and the ahjumma at the counter was a bit slow at taking orders. And while he was already gone for a long time, Sunggyu also hit the bathroom, taking care of his own business before he could take care of Kate’s. When he came back, he realized that he was gone for entirely too long.

“Mandu, mandu, mandu, mandu, 10! Aha! I win!” Kate cheered. She then began to roll up her sleeves. “Now I get to flick your forehead! Ready? Ready?”

“I’m ready. You talk too much. Just do it.”

“Ah, I can’t do it. You’re too cute,” Kate praised as she ruffled the hair of the man across from her.

“Okay but when I win, I’m going to flick you hard, okay?” Nam Woohyun responded. He then placed his hands in front of him, folded up to look like a dumpling (who played this game with both hands?). “Ready? Mandyu, mandyu, mandyu, mandyu, 15!” he called out in a high-pitched voice. He looked at their still folded hands. “I lost.”

“Oh! Gyu’s back! Now we can play with 6 hands!” Kate cheered, waving at her friend with both hands. 

“Oh, it’s Kim Sunggyu!” Woohyun exclaimed, just as excited as the tipsy girl across from him. He also waved like her and smiled broadly. 

_ Get a hold of yourself, Kim Sunggyu. You can’t fall for that smile. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Some of you might not know this, but my name is Kate. I wrote myself into a story! Sorry if you find her annoying...I'm annoying too!


	4. Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People talk about cheese and some other stuff.

Nam Woohyun, out of all of the hole-in-the-wall restaurants that he could be in the entire city of Seoul, why did he have to be in this one? Sunggyu swore that it was because Fate wanted to screw with him again. Every time Sunggyu let his guard down, this wolf would creep into his fold, and now he was picking off Sunggyu’s flock. Or was Kate begging to be dragged away by him? She was red in the cheeks and giggling at nothing in particular. That might’ve been the alcohol, or it could’ve been something else. Sunggyu eyed Nam Woohyun suspiciously as he sat down right beside Kate. It was obvious that she wasn’t in the right state of mind. Anyone could tell that from several feet away. _Is that why he’s here?_ He shoot a glance over towards Kate. _Or did she call him?_

Sunggyu decided not to beat around the bush. There was no need to be delicate when there was a potential predator prowling in his territory. “What are you doing here?”

Woohyun leaned back in his chair. His smile had changed from a happy grin to a sly smile. His eyes darted around the small room. Sunggyu tried to follow his eyes’ path, but ended up dizzy (he had some to drink too). After a few more seconds of keeping Sunggyu perplexed, Woohyun finally revealed, “This is my family’s restaurant. I saw that Kate was drinking by herself, so I joined her.”

 _This place? This place is his?_ Was Sunggyu the one infiltrating _his_ territory? Was he the predator stalking on another’s grounds? Sunggyu could’ve sworn that Woohyun’s family had an upperclass establishment with a dresscode and meals paired with wine. Not this. Not a place that looked like it was handed down from one generation to the next with cheap soju and even cheaper dishes. But then Sunggyu finally noticed what Woohyun eyes had been fixed on, pictures of Woohyun throughout stages of his life with what seemed to be his parents and an older brother. _I guess it really is his. How many times had we been here?_ “Aish,” he cursed out loud and winced. The wolf cackled at that. Sunggyu opened his eyes again to glare at him, but then his eyes flew to the side of the place where the kitchen was. _That ahjumma...is that his mother?_ Sunggyu’s mind raced through every conversation he’s had with her, when he’d apologize for Kate and Sungyeol who were being exceptionally loud, when he’d flatter her in hopes of getting service...when she’d talk about her son around his age. Woohyun’s eyes followed his gaze, and he cocked an eyebrow when he saw his mother in the kitchen.

“He’s a good friend,” Kate spoke, tearing Sunggyu’s attention away. _Friend?_ Sunggyu looked back and forth between the other two. _Exactly how close are they?_ Kate then put a bottle in front of his face. “He told me that this was water. You!” She slammed the bottle back down on the table and pointed a finger rudely at his face. “You’re a bad, bad, bad, bet a bad, bad friend,” she growled in English.

Woohyun leaned forward across the table, closer to Sunggyu. “What is she even saying?” he whispered.

Sunggyu pressed his back up flat against the wall. “I don’t know. She’s tipsy,” he grumbled back. He then watched Woohyun sit back in his seat and take a sip from his own soju glass. “Should you be drinking?” Sunggyu asked.

Woohyun paused, with his glass to his lips. “Can’t I?” he challenged. Sunggyu scoffed and scanned the room. In spite of it being in the middle of the week, the place was quite packed  (because the food was quite good, regardless of what day of the week it was, and reasonably priced). Yet, here was the wolf laying in the grass at his leisure. Woohyun frowned and finished what was left in his glass before setting it roughly on the table. “I don’t help out on weekdays. My mom won’t allow it. She says that students should be students. They should study and play with their friends,” he explained. He then nodded over to Kate. “I’m with a friend, and I’m playing.” Kate grinned broadly at that and nodded emphatically. She then rolled up her sleeves and put out her hands in the shape of ‘mandu’ again. Woohyun smiled again and did the same. But his smile left as he looked over towards Sunggyu. “Are you going to play with us?” there was a bite to his voice.

Kate nudged her old friend several times with her elbow until he finally gave in. “Sure, but not that game,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest in protest to the game. “Who plays it with two hands? You guys are embarrassing.”

“Hey, it was fun,” Woohyun argued. His attention then flew over to Kate. “Right?”

She nodded again. “I’m betting on you!” she happily exclaimed in English.

Sunggyu lowered his voice as he spoke to the other man, “This is why I started giving her water.” He gradually pulled the soju bottle away from Kate so that she wouldn’t notice. She did, and she took the one in front of Woohyun.

But Woohyun wouldn’t let her have it. He grabbed it back from the giggling girl. “I got it. I got it,” he huffed. “Only water from now on.” He wagged a finger at her. “You’re sneaky,” he spoke in a reprimanding tone. But seeing Kate smile as she tried to reach for his bottle again, he just let her take it. Sunggyu scoffed again. Nam Woohyun was surprisingly weak. Sunggyu took the bottle away from his friend and handed it back to his enemy.

“So no mandu,” he reiterated as Woohyun took the bottle back into his hands. “What game should we play?”

As it would turn out, Woohyun had several games up his sleeves, and once he had it literally up his sleeve, taking out a kleenex and challenging them to see who could make themselves sneeze first. Sunggyu suspected that Woohyun made most of them up on the spot, especially the one that they were playing right now, seeing how many chopsticks that Kate could place side-by-side down his arm. But they would roll off as soon as she put them on. “Lose my focus,” she grumbled in her native tongue as she fought to keep a stubborn chopstick on Woohyun’s arm. When it fell down onto the table with a soft clank, she let out a groan and had her own head thud loudly against the table.

Sunggyu sighed as he moved her hair out of the empty dishes. Kate was more tired than drunk at this point. Not only was she ‘losing her focus’ but also was losing her fight against sleep. Her eyes were half-way open, slowly closing more and more. Woohyun’s weird games had stopped her from drinking too much more, tired her out, and (even better) kept a smile on her face. Even though he’d known her for years, sullen Kate was a rare sight, and it made him feel like`world had been turned on its end, up was down, and Kate’s usual smile was a frown. So Kate, nearly passed out on the table, was much more preferable to Sunggyu.

“How much has she had to drink?” Woohyun asked as he was collecting the utensils that she’d dispersed all over the table.

Sunggyu scanned the table. There were only a few bottles on the table, and three of them. “Not that much,” he concluded.

Woohyun chuckled as he poked at her head through her mess of hair. “She’s a lightweight, huh?” he teased.

Kate then raised her head only to place it in her arms, hiding her face. “Give me the light,” Sunggyu could’ve sworn that she mumbled that English phrase, but it made no sense. Whether it made sense or not, Sunggyu pulled at her shoulders until she was sitting upright and in full light. It must’ve done something right because she muttered “Thanks” through her barely moving lips.

“Is that a drinking habit of hers?” Woohyun asked in a low voice. “Saying random things in English?”

“I don’t know,” Sunggyu answered. Just then, Kate’s head started to fall back down, almost hitting the table again, almost. Sunggyu saved it from doing so. He pushed her back upright with his hand on her forehead, keeping her still. When she seemed steady, Sunggyu let her go with a sigh. “She’s never been drunk before.”

“Really?!” Woohyun exclaimed.

Sunggyu crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes were still on his friend, not letting her out of his sight. “Yea. Really,” he mumbled.

Suddenly, Kate opened her eyes fully and turned her head towards Sunggyu. “Gyu? Do you hear me?” she whispered in English. Her voice was raspy from being tired (and from yelling for most of the night). Cautiously, Sunggyu nodded in response. At least he could understand her, but what he was slightly scared about what she might say next. He glanced over at the man across from them, who was lying in wait and eager to hear what she had to say. Kate seemed to have rallied because her voice was coherent. “You’re a really good friend,” she said and reach over to pat his shoulder. She then faced Woohyun. “Both of you are good friends,” she had a warm smile on her face as she spoke that. She dropped her gaze along with her voice. “And you guys really cheered me up tonight. Thank you for being here.”

Sunggyu then poked at her and poked her again until she looked at him. His friend looked up at him with clear eyes. She must’ve really sobered up. It was his chance. The question he’d been wanting to ask all night finally sprang from his lips: “Kate, why are you doing this?”

The smile grew wider on her face until it overtook everything, her eyes disappearing into it. Kate lifted her hands, placing them on each side of Sunggyu’s cheeks and then squishing his face together. “You are my shining star, and I love you so,” she returned to talking in her native tongue. Or Kate was still drunk.

“I don’t think you’re going to get an answer out of her tonight,” Woohyun stated the obvious as he stood up from his chair and walked over to the other side of the drunken girl who was still playing with Sunggyu’s cheeks. Woohyun reached over her shoulders and pried her hands off of the man’s poor, abused face. “Jah! Let’s get her home.”

“I’ll just take her to my place,” Sunggyu’s voice was muffled as he was rubbing his cheeks. He dropped his hands down to his side with a sigh. He only had one bed at his place, and part of him was hoping that Kate was drunk enough to pass out on the floor (he had a very finicky back). He then raised his gaze back up to Kate, and subsequently the man still hovering behind her, looming like an omen. His eyes were black and sharp, cutting through Sunggyu. _Does he know what I’m thinking? Ah no, he can’t_ . “It’s closer,” he reasoned. But the wolf’s glare was still fixed on him. “I’m not going to do anything to her! I swear!” Sunggyu shouted, trying to guess what the other was thinking behind those cold eyes. He then grumbled, too low for Woohyun to hear, “If anybody would, it’s someone like you.” _He’s not worth paying attention to anymore. It’s time to go._ Sunggyu gently patted Kate’s arm, trying to stir her into action. “Kate, let’s go home.”

Kater recoiled and covered her arms. “No way! No waaaaay!” she yelped.

Woohyun, who was still behind her, leaned forward until she could see his face. Then there was that grin, sly and canines peeking over his lips. “What if oppa carries you all the way home?”

Kate suddenly perked up. “Okay okay!”

* * *

“I thought you meant you’d carry her,” Sunggyu groaned as he stopped in his tracks in order to push Kate up his back and get a more secure hold on her. She had slowly been slipping down his back, and she weighed just enough to make this trip home really hard on Sunggyu. It was still possible, but barely so. Sunggyu continued walking and glared out of the corner of his eye at the man next to him, who was chuckling as he rearranged their bags on his shoulders.

“Nope,” Woohyun replied cheekily. “Kate’s older than me by a few months.”

“That would’ve been nice to know,” Sunggyu mumbled as he shifted his glare from the man to the girl on his back. She knew. She had to know that Woohyun was younger, but she agreed to make Sunggyu’s life a living Hell tonight (in his own opinion). _Nam Woohyun is a bad influence on you_ . Sunggyu sighed (which sounded more like a grunt) and shook his head. Maybe this wolf was more like a werewolf, and with one bite, he could convert others, turning them into his followers. Sunggyu glanced at the other, keeping a close eye on him, and took a step to the side and away from Woohyun. _He won’t get me_.

Woohyun cocked an eyebrow as he watched the elder step away from him and then teetering a bit from the (great) weight on his back (Kate was only a lightweight in terms of drinking). “Well, it got her up and out,” he remarked. Woohyun juggled the three bookbags in his arms again. He was no longer laughing at Sunggyu’s misery. Sunggyu hoped that his suffering was boring Nam Woohyun now so that the wolf could move onto the next target. But that tight thin line across Nam Woohyun’s face was just as disconcerting. Sunggyu couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“It did,” Sunggyu admitted. He jostled Kate again on his back, who was still murmuring nonsense. Her head was rolling off to the side. Woohyun stepped closer and with a forefinger on her forehead, he pushed her head back onto the center of the back. All the while, Sunggyu watched him carefully as the other then pulled back and stepped away from them. The corner of his mouth twitched as he did so. Sunggyu pulled away his gaze from the other and looked forward. “Thanks for helping out,” he spoke lowly, regretting saying it as soon as it left his tongue. But Nam Woohyun didn’t have to help her home like this. It left Sunggyu wondering what exactly the younger wanted to get from this. _Her?_

The smile, that fake smile, it came back. “It’s no problem,” Woohyun responded. He nodded over to the girl slumped on Sunggyu’s back. “It’s kinda worrisome to see her like this.”

“Woah!” Sunggyu lost his grip slightly on her. “Worrisome? For you?” he asked.

Woohyun nodded. “She’s my friend,” he added.

“Since when?!” Sunggyu raised his voice in disbelief.

“Conversational English Club,” Woohyun answered with a slight chuckle, but it died quickly. And the night felt eerily silent for a moment until Woohyun added seconds later, “She and Sungyeol still go, you know.”

“Yea.” Actually he didn’t know, or at least he didn’t think of it. After he left the club, the club left his mind. But of course those two would’ve kept attending the meetings. Just because Sunggyu left, didn’t mean that they had to.

“Yea. Yea. Yea. Yea. Yea. Yea. Yea. Yea,” _speak of the devil_ , Kate roused from her sleep and began singing to an unknown tune. “And can you smile?”

“Yes. See,” Woohyun responded and gave her a large, bright smile. Sunggyu could feel his friend giggle and move her head, looking away from Woohyun. _Those two play well together_ , Sunggyu thought as his eyes fixed on those gleaming teeth. _He doesn’t smile like that around me._ As only more proof of that, right as Woohyun felt Sunggyu’s gaze, their eyes met and the smile twitched and fell. _Why is he like that?_

Sunggyu faced forward. They should be getting home soon, which was good because he was losing feeling in his arms. “I thought she was being too quiet,” he joked. He bounced the girl on his back. “Yah, are you just being a creep, listening to us and pretending to be asleep?” he chided her.

“I hear that never forget you. I will find my baby,” Kate rambled on in English.

Woohyun sputtered into a short laugh. “What does that mean?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Sunggyu mumbled in response. Maybe her time abroad had robbed Kate of her English because Sunggyu was pretty sure that was just barely a sentence. But he’d been finished with her nonsense soon and with his Herculean labor. They had just turned onto his street. In just a few more feet, they’d be home. Sunggyu hazard a glance over at his ‘helper.’ _What do I do with you?_ Woohyun was just feet away from his home. He was going to know where it was and who knew what he’d do with that information. _Would he come back?_ Sunggyu pushed that to the back of his mind. _First things first._ “Are her eyes closed?” he asked.

Woohyun stepped closer again, until he was hovering over the back of Sunggyu’s shoulder. _Does he really need to get that close?_ “Eung,” Woohyun then hummed lowly, near the other’s ear, before pulling away, retreating back to a safe distance (for Sunggyu). “I think she’s asleep,” he whispered.

“Good,” Sunggyu snapped back, a bit above a whisper. “She was kinda yelling in my ear. It hurt,” he lamented, only to earn chuckles from the other. “What?” Sunggyu challenged with a mean glare.

Woohyun bit his lip and shook his head, acting as if he hadn’t laughed at all. “Nothing. You’re different than I thought you were,” he answered with a shrug.

Sunggyu stopped at the steps of his building, facing the other straight on. “What do you mean?”

“Just that,” Woohyun put vaguely. His face was shadowed in the darkening sky. “You’re different. Completely.”

Sunggyu waited for him to continue, but Woohyun wouldn’t say anything more. They were just staring at each other at the stairs. Then the street lamp over the steps flickered on, chasing away the shadows of the night.  And Sunggyu could see Woohyun’s face in the full light. Apprehensive. Timid. Why did he look like he’d just been lured into a trap?

Suddenly tired, Sunggyu slowly sat down on the steps, carefully putting down his friend first, resting her body against the railing. After he was down, Sunggyu moved his shoulders back and forth and rolled his neck. He hadn’t realized it early, but he was out of breath from the exertion. Although he didn’t have quite enough air to ask, he did so anyway, slightly panting, “What did you think of me before?”

Woohyun cocked an eyebrow. “Do you really want to know?” he challenged.

“Yes,” Sunggyu blurted out but seconds later he shook his head and took it all back, “No.” He then cursed, rubbing his back, “Aish! I think I pulled my back.”

“That’s it!” Woohyun exclaimed and started cackling evilly again. “You’re totally an old man!” he teased. “I was going to say that you’re like her dad, but now I’m starting to think grandpa.”

“Yah!” Sunggyu snapped. His hands stopped rubbing his back and folded into fists at his knee.

“Sh!” Woohyun hushed him, putting a finger to his lips. “You’re going to wake her up,” he whispered and waved in the direction of Kate. Sunggyu pouted and felt himself growing hot. Woohyun was the only who first started to raise his voice, getting excited. And now when Sunggyu naturally followed along, he felt like he’d done wrong. His pouted deepened when he heard Woohyun trying to stifle a chuckle. Sunggyu raised his gaze to him, about to snap, but the laughter had died and Woohyun was looking towards the right. “Oh,” he muttered and faced the other again with the uneasy smile, complete with the corner of his lip trembling. He unloaded himself, placing the bookbags at the foot of the stairs. “Here are your bags. I’ll see you around, okay?” he said before stepping away, getting ready to walk away.

Sunggyu jumped up from his seat and began yelling after the other, “Y-yah! Nam Woohyun! You aren’t going to help me carry her up?”

“Nope!” Woohyun shouted back cheekily. He was already half-way down the hill, but he began walking backwards and waved at the other. “Good night, Kim Sunggyu!” he wished him before turning around and disappearing around the corner in a slight jog.

“Jerk,” Sunggyu grumbled as he sat back down on the steps. He turned to look at his friend behind him, frowning deeply. “How am I supposed to carry all of this?” he mused aloud. He could only come to one conclusion: just don’t carry her. He nudged her and urged her, “Wake up.”

Kate’s eyelids fluttered but were just barely open. “Wake up. Wake up,” she mumbled in English and rubbed her tired eyes. She leaned away from the railing but was swaying when she tried to sit up straight. Kate still needed help to get up stairs. A lot of help.

“Was that Nam Woohyun?”

“Ack!” Sunggyu yelped. He lost his breath again and now his heart. It was racing in his chest as he growled, “Myungsoo! How long have you been there?”

“Not long,” Myungsoo answered back coolly as he leaned against the railing. But he looked past the elder and down the street.  “It was him,” he concluded with a frown. “Why didn’t he stay? I haven’t seen him in awhile.”

Sunggyu’s eyes immediately dropped to the hand gripping the railing. _I think I know._ The hand looked fine now, but Sunggyu remembered what had happened to it and how the pain from that day still followed his neighbor. Sunggyu decided to let it be. It was too late to be bringing up (literally) old scars, especially when he still had a fearsome trouble at hand: drunk Kate. “Soo, can you help me?” Sunggyu asked.

“Sure,” Myungsoo immediately agreed and moved around the railing to help. He helped Kate back up to her feet, who then told him that “success is the best revenge.” Did she know about his history with Woohyun? Exactly how close were those two? Sunggyu had a list about a meter long full of questions that he wanted to ask her. Unfortunately, his curiosity had to painfully wait until morning when she felt like speaking coherently again...and in Korean.

But fortunately, she could sort of make it up the stairs, but she was relying on Myungsoo for support who more or less dragged her up the stairs. And even better, she did end up crawling into Sunggyu’s apartment, curling up on the floor, and falling asleep. Sunggyu gently placed a pillow under her head and threw a blanket over her body before sending off Myungsoo with many ‘thank yous.’ After he shut the door, he stared at the girl on the floor. Right there was a wasted night that could’ve been spent studying, that he had planned on studying. Or was it truly a waste? Sunggyu didn’t get out much anymore after he quit the club. He’d forgotten what being human was like rather than just (barely) living like a studying-machine. It was nice. Even though Nam Woohyun was there, it was nice. _Really nice_.

“Who you love, who loves you.”

“Huh?” Sunggyu hummed as he peeked out of his bathroom door with a toothbrush still hanging out of his mouth. Great, now she’s sleeping talking, Sunggyu thought as he watched Kate roll over onto her side. He stepped back into the bathroom and began rinsing his mouth out. As he was doing so and had a mouth full of water, she said something else: “Just another lonely night, lonely night without you.”

Sunggyu looked at his reflection in the mirror and swallowed down the water harshly before leaving the bathroom. “Are you really going to be whining about being alone when I’m right here?” he asked in a low tone, hovering over her. And of course, now was the time when she fell silent, when he’d wanted to talk, when he needed to talk. The silence soon grew oppressive, heavier on Sunggyu’s back than when he’d carried Kate. It was a lonely night indeed. Sure he had company, but she wasn’t really there. She was no better company than a ghost or a fish. In fact, Sunggyu felt lonelier because of it, because there was the temptation. Here was his best friend, but he couldn’t say a word to her. Torture. Sunggyu sighed and went over to his bed, crawling under the covers and hoping that sleep would swiftly overtake him too. But it didn’t. _Who you love, who loves you...who you love...who loves you...who you love...who...what sort of person would he love?_

“Please, look at me, look at me, look at me

I can feel you, like this, feel you, feel you

Struggling to catch your expressions

Struggling to catch your smiles

You, who I struggled to understand

In the place where we were together

In the moment where I resembled you

When it felt too good being soaked in the rain

You are gone, gone.”

That singing, it wasn’t Kate. First of all, it was in Korean, and second, Kate was snoring away in the middle of his floor. It wasn’t her. It was some other girl singing, and she was right outside his window. Sunggyu rolled out of bed and walked to his window. His window just above and a little to the left of the steps that lead up to his building, which is why Myungsoo’s random singing and playing at odd hours of the day had bothered him. But this wasn’t Myungsoo either. It was his little sister, singing on the stairs of the building in the middle of the night.

“Myungeun-ah,” he called out to her in a loud whisper as to not wake up the entire neighborhood. At the sound of her name, the teenager immediately stiffened and stood up, searching for whoever had called her. “It’s late. Why are you awake?” Sunggyu chided her, and probably because of that she figured out who was looking for her.

“Oppa!” she called back to him happily and waved, as if being out in the middle of the street in the bleak hours of the night were a normal thing for a teenager to do. And to sing on top of that. “I couldn’t sleep,” she explained, pouting as she twiddled her thumbs. “I have a big audition tomorrow, so I thought I’d practice.”

“You have nothing to worry about,” Sunggyu said to her with a proud smile. “You sing really well, like _really_ well.” He clapped a little for her (laughing as she bowed). “Two thumbs up!” he exclaimed and gave her two thumbs up.

“I know!” Myungeun replied cheekily, but there was a faint blush in her cheeks. She’d been flattered by the praise. “That’s why I wanted to be a singer.” She then eyed him suspiciously. “You sound surprised, oppa,” she sounded disappointed.

To be honest, he was surprised, completely surprised. The only time he’d heard her sing, Myungeun went horribly off-key. And Sunggyu had assumed that her ambition was similar to her brother’s, having a dream that she put little effort towards. However, she had put in the effort, a whole lot of it. She had a solid technique, a good color to her voice. She... _She could actually do this_. But Sunggyu would never admit to thinking so little of her, especially not the night before a big audition. “Uh...it’s late,” he tried to change the topic. “You should really go to bed and rest your voice.”

“True,” Myungeun admitted as she kicked her foot against a step. She was hesitant and wanted to practice more, but knew what she should do. “I’m nervous, but…” She bit her lip before continuing, “I have a really good feeling about this one, oppa. I think this could be it!”

“I think so too,” and Sunggyu meant it. Myungeun had what it took: the talent and the drive. But what she needed was sleep. Sunggyu put on a stern expression and pointed at the door. “It’s late!” he repeated once more. “Come inside and sleep!”

“Okay,” Myungeun grumbled and walked up the steps. Sunggyu waited until he could hear her coming up the main staircase and walk into her apartment. Myungeun made it easy for him because she stomped all the way back home. Sunggyu smiled as he heard the door close and he crawled back into his bed.

Once he was under the covers again, he was plagued with guilt. He had misjudged her completely. Sunggyu wished that he’d given her more encouragement rather than treating her like a child with a pipe dream. But even worse, it lead him to wonder if he might’ve misjudged anyone else just as badly.

_Struggling to catch your smiles...You, who I struggled to understand._

* * *

Sunggyu felt like he’d barely slept once his alarm rang, which would be the case. He’d only shut his eyes for a few hours, but his brain wouldn’t turn off. Restless, he’d been restless the whole night and he was almost grateful that the alarm rang, almost until he realized he’d have to spend the entire day sleep-deprived and irritable, which wasn’t the best mood…

“Good morning.”

It wasn’t the best mood to deal with that. Sunggyu sat up in his bed while rubbing the sleep away from his face. After blinking a few times, his vision cleared and he could see his friend who was just as exhausted and miserable as he was. “Don’t _ever_ drink that much again,” he warned her.

“I was thinking the same thing,” Kate grumbled. Her hands were furiously rubbing at her temples. “My head,” she whined. Sunggyu rolled his eyes and opened up a drawer in his bedside table. After finding it inside, he threw the bottle of painkillers at her. She wasn’t even upset to be hit by them. She was just grateful to see them. “Thanks,” her lips barely moved as she struggled to open the bottle. A shiver ran down Sunggyu’s spine. This was eerily similar to last night when she kept trying to line up chopsticks along... _This is not the time_. Kate gave up on the bottle temporarily and went into the kitchen to grab some water for the pills.

“Do you like Sungyeol?” Sunggyu finally asked one of the many questions that plagued him last night. Kate shuffled out of the kitchen with a cup held securely in both hands. She shrugged as her answer, or at least she tried to. Sunggyu glared at her sternly until she gave in and nodded. “Why don’t you just tell him?” he spoke with a slight whine. He couldn’t help it. He was frustrated, and Kate was slowly ruining the small circle of friends he had with her insecurities.

“I’m a coward,” she admitted shamelessly as she sat back down on the floor. She put down her cup and picked up the bottle once again, renewing her struggle against it.

 _At least she knows it_ , Sunggyu thought. He almost preferred that she didn’t because now he was failing to see what her problem was. “What’s so hard? He obviously likes you back,” he declared.

“Yea, for now,” Kate huffed. She stopped trying to open up the bottle and clenched it in her hands. “But how long is that going to last? How long will he like me?” She tore her gaze from the bottle and looked up at her friend with a thinly drawn smile. “I’m not confident in being a good girlfriend for him, but I make a great friend. Just look at us. Still going strong after all these years.” Her smile grew wider as she talked. Being a friend was something that she was confident in.

 _But Sungyeol wouldn’t be satisfied with just that. No one would,_ Sunggyu thought. “And it’s _just_ going to be you and me years later. Alone together and bitter about our lives,” he pointed out in a grim voice.

Kate gave him a sly look. “Will we really be alone if we’re together?” she argued.

“Yes,” Sunggyu replied without a second thought, remembering how he’d felt the night before. He didn’t want to spend the rest of his life like that. He didn’t want that for Kate either. But there was at least a way for her to avoid that fate: “You should tell him.”

“What? That I like him?” Kate’s eyes bugged out as she asked the question. Sunggyu nodded. And in spite of her throbbing head, she shook her head furiously. “No!” she whined. Finally her head couldn’t withstand anymore shaking, and she stopped, but her tongue kept moving: “What if, down the line, things don’t turn out so well? We break up and I lose him? What then?”

Sunggyu narrowed his already droopy eyes on her. “What makes you think that’s going to happen?” he asked.

“What makes you think that it won’t?” she retorted. The bottle finally popped open, and that was the only sound between them for a few moments as Sunggyu struggled to find an answer. He could only come up with one. It wasn’t so much of an answer as it was a feeling, and so it was difficult for him to put it into words.

“Because you’re Kate and Sungyeol. You guys...go well together,” he slowly stumbled his way through an answer. He was scratching the back of his neck as he said that, but he stopped to wag his finger in admonishment to his friend. “And you’re only going to lose him if you keeping pushing him away.”

Kate spilled a couple of pills on the floor, but didn’t care. She looked up to her friend in panic. “I don’t want to lose him! He’s the best friend that I’ve ever had!” she blurted out frantically.

“Yah!” Sunggyu yelled as he threw a pillow at her head. “I’m your best friend!” he reminded her.

Kate just let the pillow fall down into her lap. She smiled at her friend apologetically as he picked up the fallen pills from the floor. “Sorry, oppa. You lost that title when you left me for the stinking army,” she excused herself, trying to soften the blow by talking to him formally (sort of). Sunggyu sighed. It wasn’t like he had a choice. He had to leave. And it probably was the best thing he did if she met Sungyeol as a result. But as he was contemplating that in his mind, he’d almost missed her saying: “That’s why I’m trying to find you a new best friend.”

“Really? Who?” he muttered in disbelief. He pointed over at the wall which was shared between the two apartments. “Myungsoo?”

Kate shook her head. “No. Nam Woohyun.”

“What? Nam Woohyun?” Sunggyu repeated. _Is she still drunk?_ She wasn’t making any sense. “You mean that wolf, Nam Woohyun? That deceptive creep?”

“Oh god, Sunggyu!” Kate had had it. She put a hand over her heart. “When are you going to realize that _I’m_ the clever and deceptive one and not Nam Woohyun? Hm?” she argued. “I was the one who started to invite him to our lunches. And then you, ya big jerk, disinvited him on the first day!” she revealed with a snarl, looking Sunggyu up and down with disdain. “I told him that you guys could walk together after class to the cafeteria. I guess he forgot to tell you that he was eating with us, and what did you do? ‘I don’t eat.’ Who is going to believe that?” she asked with a scoff.

“Nam Woohyun did,” Sunggyu retorted.

 _“No_ one would believe that!” Kate came back.

“Why do you want me to eat with him so badly?” Sunggyu deflected the attention off of him and back onto her. “I thought you had a crush on him or something.”

Kate waved her hands frantically. “No, no, no,” she denied. “I just wanted you guys to talk things out because, somehow, you guys _completely_ misunderstood each other,” she explained.

“Misunderstood?” Sunggyu repeated with a scoff. “I think I know Nam Woohyun _very_ well.”

“Oh my god, can you _please_ stop calling him _Nam_ Woohyun? He’s like the only Woohyun we know!” Kate exclaimed. She picked up the pillow on her lap and threw it back at her friend, straight at his head. And when it fell away, Sunggyu saw her smug face. No, it wasn’t smug the more he looked at it. It was almost sad; resigned was probably the word for it. “Well, I guess _you_ don’t know him at all,” she remarked. “You guys would make good friends if you just stop being so stubborn. The both of you. You guys are giving me a migraine.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s just the hangover,” Sunggyu made a joke out of it, not knowing what else to say. Kate gave a short nod in agreement and popped the pills into her mouth finally. Sunggyu finally got out of bed. He needed to get ready for the day. Kate did too. However, he wasn’t finished with her. He had even more questions for her now. “Why do you think we’d even be friends?” the question was low.

But Kate still heard it and answered. “I’m a good judge of character.” She then tried to take a drink from her cup but ended up spilling it all over her shirt. “Oh shit,” she cursed.

Sunggyu tutted at her as he put on his sweatshirt. _How can she be a good judge of character if she can’t even judge where her mouth is_ , he thought. He was starting to question if she knew him at all, or if there was a marked difference between the Sunggyu before his service and after. There probably was a difference; there had to be. Two years is a much longer time than one assumes. All Sunggyu had to do was look at Kate for proof of that. Her style had changed. She’d grown to be more mature in his absence, in some ways more than others. In other ways, she’d become more childish.

“Hey before, when you said that you thought I had a crush on Woohyun,” Kate began the question as Sunggyu was pulling his head through the opening of his hoodie.

“Yea,” he grunted as he gestured for her to turn around so that he could change his pants. Kate did so and continued her question.

“Do you think Sungyeol thinks I do too?”

“To be honest, right now, Sungyeol probably thinks you have a crush on every guy besides him,” he answered bluntly. “You’ve been treating him badly lately. I know why because I’ve seen you do this before. But Yeol has no clue.”

Sunggyu glanced over at her, but her back was still turned to him. Her knees were now pulled to her chest and her back hunched. “So what? I go up to him and say ‘Sorry that I’ve been disregarding you lately but it’s because I’m afraid of losing you?’” she spoke as if it were ridiculous.

“Yea.” As ridiculous as it sounded, it was the only viable solution that Sunggyu could see.

Kate craned her neck back to look at him with a shy grin on her face. “Can you say it for me? You’re better at talking than I am,” she begged. As an answer, Sunggyu tossed her jacket at her so that it covered her head. “Okay, I’ll tell him later.”

* * *

Sunggyu should’ve given her a deadline, made her promise to confess to Sungyeol by the end of the day, or at least talk to him in private, because Kate appeared to have no intention of talking to Sungyeol today more than necessary. In fact after her conversation with Sunggyu that morning, she seemed more shy around her lackey more than ever. A master afraid of her own slave. And Sungyeol didn’t know how to react to Kate moving away every time that he got closer. Sunggyu tucked his lips in, forcing himself back from revealing everything. Kate had to do this herself.

The next day was no better. Actually it was probably worse. After Professor Kang’s lecture, Sunggyu walked to the cafeteria to eat with those two bumbling doofuses (and him suffering in silence once more). But he halted his step and ducked behind an open door. Kate was talking to none other than (Nam) Woohyun at the entrance of the cafeteria, whom Sunggyu hadn’t seen since that (long and awkward) night. And he had no intention of ‘seeing’ him again (but spying on him from behind a door was perfectly fine).

“Can I eat with you guys today?” the wolf asked her. He looked anxious. Why?

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea,” Kate replied sadly. “Somehow those two got it stuck in their heads that I have a crush on you.”

Woohyun burst into a roaring laugh and hit the other playfully on the shoulder. Kate laughed too, shying away from his ‘attacks.’ Those two, they were acting as if it were a ridiculous notion, but at the same time, they were acting as if they liked each other in that way, flirting. “What? Didn’t you tell them about me?” he asked after the laughter left him.

Kate shook her head. “I didn’t think it was my place. _You_ should tell them, especially Sung…”

“What are you doing over here?”

Sunggyu yelped and grabbed at his heart. Sungyeol had snuck up on him while he was spying. And because Sunggyu was too busy gathering himself up again after the scare, he couldn’t stop Sungyeol from seeing Kate and Woohyun together. “Oh,” dropped from his lips as soon as he caught sight of the two of them. Sungyeol walked around the door and up to the giggling pair (and to her credit, Kate tried to stop from laughing, but the whole situation made her so nervous that her giggles kept coming back again and again, stronger each time). With a grim expression and a cold voice, Sungyeol greeted them, “Hello. Will you be joining us today, Nam Woohyun?” Sunggyu scurried up next to them while cranking through his mind how best to handle this situation. He couldn’t think of anything.

Woohyun did. His eyes flickered over to Sunggyu and then back to Sungyeol, giving his friend a forced grin. “Nah, I told Dongwoo and Hoya that I was going to eat with them,” he excused himself. _Liar_.

Sungyeol’s eyes darted back and forth between them. He swallowed harshly. “You guys look good together,” his voice as dead as ever. Sunggyu’s head whipped towards him and looked at him incredulously. _Is Sungyeol giving them his blessing?_

“Thanks! I think we have similar smiles. See!” After saying that Kate flashed a too-broad grin and Woohyun followed her, trying to mimic her smile the best he could. She tried to make a joke out of it, but it failed miserably. _Kate, you’re an idiot_. They looked more like a couple than ever. Woohyun seemed to have more sense and took his leave. Kate waved at him as he walked away. “Bye Namu...hyun...ssi,” she tried to sound as formal as she could, eyes darting back to Sungyeol to see his reaction, but he kept a blank expression.

“Bye Kate-nim!” Woohyun responded back in kind. Sunggyu shook his head. It sounded more cute than formal. _The both of them, idiots_ . “Hyung-nim,” Woohyun added with one last wave before darting down the hall. _Was that me?_ Sunggyu asked. He glanced behind him. Woohyun could’ve been talking to Sungyeol, he supposed. _Is he older than him too?_

* * *

Hyung-nim or no, Sunggyu fully intended to keep avoiding the wolf as he’d been accustomed to doing. It was safe this way. It was habit, although Woohyun had recently been in the habit of sitting next to him during Kang’s class. But it was the only seat available, and Sunggyu could bear with it. Woohyun never talked to him. They were like two stone statues standing next to each other, forever facing forward, wordlessly. Soon, Sunggyu felt his presence no more than a statue’s too. He supposed that it was better than before (or was it really?).

In addition to shunning Woohyun, Sunggyu could no longer stand being with Sungyeol and Kate either until they resolved their issues. He’d hoped that their absence would give them more time together, but every time Sunggyu would leave, Kate would take her leave as well. And no conversation ever took place, it seemed. _Maybe I’ll have to talk to her again._

But Sunggyu wasn’t avoiding everyone. In fact, he was spending more and more time with his neighbors. It lifted his spirits to hang out with them. Myungeun had passed her auditions and was bursting with happiness. And Myungsoo was same as always. His sister’s success didn’t seem to spur him into any more action. He still played on the steps, waiting for his fortune to fall from the sky into his lap. At least Sunggyu could depend on Myungsoo being constant, forever playing songs on the stoop and forever holding a grudge against Woohyun (much like himself).

“Oh, I saw Woohyun-hyung today,” Myungsoo remarked as he strummed on the guitar. Sunggyu had sat down next to him on the steps when he returned home from school.

“What?” Apparently Sunggyu couldn’t depend on him. “Didn’t you say that you hate Nam Woohyun?”

Myungsoo put down his guitar and shook his head. “No, I never said that,” he insisted.

“But he broke your hand,” Sunggyu reminded him.

Myungsoo raised the said hand and moved it around freely. “Yea, by accident,” he responded. He lowered his hand, placing it back on the guitar strings. “Don’t you remember what I said?”

Sunggyu closed his eyes and tried his best to recall the three of them back in the Myung’s apartment that day. He and Myungsoo were sitting side-by-side on the couch. Myungsoo had just made the joke Sunggyu’s eyes after looking at the photo of him and the wolf. Myungeun was in front of them, eating the chicken that Sunggyu had bought for her.

“He broke my hand...by complete accident,” Myungsoo said. “He shut a door on it. We were fooling around, chasing each other around the house. Myungeun, you remember, right?”

Myungeun put the chicken down and faced them. “Eung, oppa’s finger was like this,” she stated, and she pulled her pointer finger backwards.

“Ah, right! My finger broke too,” her brother added, wincing at the memory. “Anyway, Woohyun felt guilty. He apologized and bought me my favorite teddy bear.”

“You still sleep with it,” Myungeun remarked with a sly grin.

“Yah!” Myungsoo snapped at her. He then turned and pouted to Sunggyu, probably trying to distract him from what he sister just said. “It still hurts sometimes,” he whined, reminding Sunggyu of his misery and not his teddy bear.

And it had worked. Sunggyu had concentrated on that and nothing else. In his bias against the man, Sunggyu was taking any chance he had to dislike Woohyun even more. And this was just barely a reason for him too. Even Myungsoo didn’t hold a grudge about it. It was all water under the bridge for him. And the aspiring musician could still freely play his guitar without any hindrance. So why was Sunggyu still clinging onto his grudge? _Because it’s still warranted_ , he insisted. Myungsoo might’ve not ultimately suffered at Woohyun’s hands, but Sunggyu had still been slashed by his sharp claws.

“You met with him? But didn’t he just avoid you the other day?” Sunggyu argued.

“Oh, that,” Myungsoo muttered. “He owes me money. So he was embarrassed, but he repaid me in part today.”

“What?” Sunggyu blubbered. “He owes _you_ money?” Myungsoo? Myungsoo who always asked Sunggyu to buy him things? Who just barely scraped by day to day? _Woohyun must be in dire straits to ask money from him. And where has Myungsoo been hiding all of that money._ Sunggyu glared at the other.

“Eung,” Myungsoo happily hummed along with his song.

“You guys reunite and the first thing he does is ask you for money?” Sunggyu reiterated the entire situation. The whole matter was odd.

“I offered,” the musician admitted. And his tune didn’t miss a beat. “I kind of forceful about it. He was thinking of taking a year off so that he could pay for school. I just helped him out a bit. He probably felt awkward about that then, especially with you there too.”

“Me? Why?” Sunggyu was astonished.

Myungsoo put down his guitar. “He cares what you think,” he said as he placed the guitar back in its case. He then clicked the case shut. “He cares what everyone thinks. Maybe a little too much. He doesn’t want to give anyone a reason to look down on him.” With that he stood up. And Sunggyu followed.

“I wouldn’t do that,” the elder insisted but his voice faltered. It was a lie, a bold-faced lie.

However, Myungsoo still bought it. He always believed the best in Sunggyu, even when he didn’t deserve it. “I know that, hyung,” he replied, giving the elder his best dimpled smile. “Hyung, since I have no money now, can you buy me dinner?”

Sunggyu gave him a half-smile, and a heart full of guilt. “Sure.”

* * *

The next day only shed more light on all the wrong assumptions that Sunggyu had made, making his mood darker and bleaker. Before lecture, his copycat was at it again. Today he was wearing the exact same sweatshirt as Sunggyu and was even wearing a black cap. The original couldn’t stomach his forgery any longer. It was high-time that he said something about it. When the doppelganger sat down in front of him, Sunggyu tapped him on the shoulder. “Nice sweatshirt,” he remarked snidely. The other grinned, muttered ‘thanks,’ and tried to turn back around but Sunggyu quickly added, “I’m wearing the same one.”

This time the copycat turned completely around and looked Sunggyu up and down. An amused smile spread across his face. “So we are,” he responded. He pulled at his sweatshirt. “But I’m wearing this ironically.” With that said, the doppelganger spun around in his seat, facing the professor who’d just walked in.

“Ironically?” Sunggyu mumbled as he looked down at his sweatshirt. What was ironic about this?

“His dad is a pastor,” Woohyun mumbled lowly, eyes still facing forward. He’d broken the strain of silence that had been stretching between them for the last few days. It had reached its limit. “Hoya wears shirts like that to get a rise out of him.” Woohyun cast a quick glance over to the other, looking down at the image on Sunggyu’s sweatshirt. The pagan god, Pan, was spread across his sweatshirt in the shape of the cross, complete with hellish fire, which would make any good pastor cringe at the sight of it. “It suits you though,” Woohyun remarked with a straight face before returning his attention once more to the teacher.

And Sunggyu tried his best to do the same, but he found it difficult to do so, especially with his (maybe not) a copycat in his line of vision. _He’s still lying about dating Kate_ , Sunggyu reminded himself. So Sunggyu hadn’t been entirely wrong about him. This Ho-person was still trying to emulate his life. And it was time Sunggyu put an end to it. After taking off his sweatshirt, Sunggyu found it far easier to pay attention in class.

* * *

After lecture, Sunggyu had to fulfill his duty and suffer through another awkward lunch with Kate and Sungyeol. However, this lunch wasn’t as dreadful as the ones before. Kate was just uncommonly quiet, and the three of them mostly ate in silence. Perhaps it was because they were so silent, Sunggyu noticed the group a few tables away from them, chatting and laughing loudly and barely touching the food in front of them. It was his copycat along with Dongwoo and Woohyun, but the trio was soon joined by a girl with shoulder length black hair. Sunggyu narrowed his eyes on her. She didn’t seem Korean, maybe Chinese? But that didn’t seem to fit her either. Then Sunggyu’s eyes widened in shock as he watched the newcomer kiss his copycat on the cheek before sitting down next to them.

“Hey,” Sunggyu gathered his friends’ attention. “Who’s that eating with them?” he asked, nodding over to the table behind them. Unabashedly, Sungyeol and Kate spun around to look at the table face-on. Sunggyu groaned. Those two weren’t subtle in the slightest, even though they’d been carefully hiding their feelings for each for nearly a week (if not longer).

“That’s Karen, Hoya’s girlfriend,” Sungyeol answered plainly, as if it were nothing interesting. He turned back around and resumed eating again.

Kate, on the other hand, gave more of a reaction. It wasn’t shock, like Sunggyu expected it would be. She just happily answered, “Karen’s from Canada. I met her through one of my classes and invited her to the club. She started coming after _you_ left. They met there and began dating.” Kate glanced back at them and smiled as she watched Karen and Hoya talk to each other. “Hoya really opened up. It’s almost like he’s a different person.”

 _Yea, me_ , Sunggyu kept that to himself. “Since when did _you_ call him Hoya?” he pressed. It was strange. Before this Ho-kid wasn’t even a blip on anyone’s radar; he was just a minnow in a sea of bigger fish. But ever since that break, he’d become _Hoya_ and a friend to all.

Kate looked over at Sungyeol. “It’s been a while now, right?” she asked him.

Sungyeol nodded. “Yea, Hoya had told us about how you accidentally called him that, hyung,” Sungyeol revealed. Sunggyu grew hot. He didn’t want to remember that...or think about the club talking about him behind his back. “Apparently he liked the sound of it and made a gag out of it.” His eyes flew over to Kate. “I say ‘ho’! You say…”

“Yah!” she filled in for him and laughed.

So Sungyeol did it again. “Ho?”

“YAH!” she shouted even louder.

“Ho?”

“YAH!” this time the table behind them finished the line.

The owner of that gag stood up from his seat. “Hey! That’s mine,” he reminded them, but he was still grinning broadly and getting joy out of people enjoying his joke. He then sat down, and everyone returned back to their lunches, except Sunggyu. He’d lost his appetite. After the break, the Ho-minnow didn’t become _him_ ; he became Hoya, still a different person but a unique one (and probably not that far different from the minnow, just less shy).

And Kim Sunggyu had been wrong yet again. How many times had he been wrong this past week? He hoped that this would put an end to that streak.

“Sungyeol,” Kate spoke his name, her voice slightly trembling from nervousness. “I’m going to get coffee before class. Do you want to come with?”

Sungyeol stared at her suspiciously but still agreed, “Uh, sure.” And the two of them left Sunggyu alone at the table, who’d been drowning too deeply in his thoughts to notice.

* * *

But eventually he did notice and got up from the table. He could squeeze in a couple hours of studying before his next class, and so he made his way to the library. “Where did they go?” he mused out loud, scanning the campus for any sign of his friends. He couldn’t believe that they snuck off without saying a word to him like that. _What are they doing?_ “What’s she doing?” Sunggyu asked with a scoff. It was a face he hadn’t seen in awhile. Actually, it wasn’t so much her face as her back. Inha, his stalker, was crouched behind the bushes in front of Sunggyu. She probably was anticipating Sunggyu coming from the business building and was waiting for him to walk by so that she could ambush him. But her prey was standing right behind her, unbeknownst. _She’s slacking_ , Sunggyu thought as he stepped slowly and quietly up to her. _Let’s see how much you like being snuck up on_.

Sunggyu crouched down and started to duck-walk up to her. “In…”

“PEANUT!” Inha suddenly cut him off and jumped up, causing Sunggyu to fall back onto his behind (which hurt a lot). She then leaped over the bushes and onto this small man, who was delightfully surprised to be attacked by such a creature. Sunggyu stood up, groaning and wincing all the while. He’d feel that fall for days. But his pain was replaced with shock. Inha’s Peanut, he’d (just barely) recognized him. If Hoya had been a minnow, then this kid was plankton. Sunggyu had at least known half of Hoya’s name before, but he could only recall Peanut’s face and where he sat in Kang’s lecture, nothing more. However, Peanut was much more than a face and a seat to Inha. She was clinging onto his arm and doting on him with all the affection that her big heart had to give. And Peanut was giving it back tenfold. His aegyo was quickly leaving a deep, deep impression on Sunggyu, and it would be hard for him to ever forget Peanut again. And the two of them walked straight past Sunggyu and into the cafeteria without paying him any heed. Sunggyu watched them go inside with his jaw unhinged.

“I’ll be damned. She finally found the perfect target.”

* * *

Sunggyu was able to get over the shock while studying, and it became an even more distant memory after his class. His mind was filled more with thoughts about managerial strategies than Inha and her new beau. Everything was being set aright. He no longer had a copycat. He was no longer being stalked. And Woohyun was being cordial to him. So Kim Sunggyu could now return to his studies in peace, which he did later that afternoon when he returned to the library. He had the best, most productive study session that he’s had in weeks. And he walked out of the library feeling quite accomplished and with his head held high. He hoped to cap off this day with a good night’s rest, but he felt uneasy and wondered if that was possible after catching sight of Kate and Sungyeol outside of the library, sitting on a bench.

“Oh! Gyu!” Kate exclaimed after catching sight of her friend (who was trying to sneak past them).

“Gyu!” Sungyeol repeated, and the both of them leapt from the bench and surrounded him on both sides, not letting him escape. They were in the best mood that Sunggyu had seen them all week (or month or maybe semester) and were giggling to themselves as they stuck to Sunggyu’s side, which made him very uncomfortable.

“What?” Sunggyu asked. He felt like he’d missed out on a joke. _Is it me?_ “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Kate insisted, trying her best to keep a straight face.

“Nope. Nothing at all,” Sungyeol repeated as calm as he could. But then the two caught sight of each other and began giggling again. Sunggyu whirled his head around, looking for the answer. His eyes fixed on his sweatshirt. _Is it because of the whole copycat thing?_ It wasn’t but Sunggyu soon got his answer. “I have to go, okay?” Sungyeol announced. He stepped back behind Sunggyu and reached over, pulling Kate with him. And that’s when Sunggyu heard a familiar sound. A _very_ familiar sound. Sungyeol returned to Sunggyu’s side and waved to him. “I’ll see you later,” Sungyeol said before rushing off to his night class.

“Bye!” Sunggyu whipped his head over to see Kate waving goodbye to Sungyeol with one hand, and the other hand was gingerly touching her cheek. Blush slowly overtook her face starting with the tips of her ears.

“So…” Sunggyu began as he lead their way to the bus stop.

“So?” she repeated, pretending to be oblivious. She fanned her face hoping to stop blushing, but the memory of it made her hot all over again.

“Are you guys dating?” he asked in a knowing tone.

“Yea,” she admitted shyly and dropped her gaze. Kate had stopped fanning and resigned herself to be forever red in the face. She had nothing to hide anymore.

“You _finally_ told him,” Sunggyu concluded. The two of them had reached their stop and sat down.

“Eung,” she hummed as she plopped down. “I did. _And_ it was a lot easier than I thought it would be, to confess to someone. I don’t know what I was afraid of,” Kate bragged.

“Honestly, me either,” Sunggyu remarked.

“I was being silly,” Kate confessed. She dropped her gaze to her bag on her lap, and she began her giggle fit all over again.

Sunggyu, amazed, watched her unceasingly giggle for a few seconds and then finally asked, “What is it now?”

Kate took in a deep breath before facing him. “I’m happy,” she stated. “Lee Sungyeol is my boyfriend, and I’m just happy.”

“Why? It’s just Lee Sungyeol. It’s not like you’re dating Park Bogum, or something,” he teased her.

But that diss did not dampen her mood in the slightest. “To me, Sungyeol’s better,” she responded in all seriousness before breaking down into giggles again. Sunggyu retched. If this is what it was going to be like with them as a couple, he was going to start yearning for the days when they hadn’t confessed yet. This was all too cheesy.

Sunggyu was just about to tease her some more but her phone rang. Sunggyu could tell who called just by the smile on her face. “Oh, what is it?” she asked Sungyeol after picking up the call. She turned her back towards Sunggyu as she continued talking, “Of course, I can pick that up for you….Why? Hmmm, because I like you….No, you’re the best!”

Sunggyu rolled his eyes and placed his headphones on, cranking his music up loud enough to drown the cheesy conversation out with a calm and melodic tune. The song that was playing was slightly sad and bitter, which contrasted greatly against the bubbling girl next to him. But it suited the mood that was washing over Sunggyu like a sudden and overpowering tidal wave. He pouted. _Everyone is getting together these days. Everyone but me._

* * *

The following day was a Saturday, and Sunggyu took a risk and invited the new couple over to his apartment that afternoon. He’d woken up that morning and noticed how empty his apartment was. He couldn’t bare to see it like that any longer, so he called them up. The couple was more than willing to jump at the chance to hang out with Sunggyu who now normally spent his Saturdays studying. And because he’d normally spent his time studying, Sunggyu didn’t know what to do once they appeared on his doorstep. Luckily, those two always had a plan up their sleeves.

They were sitting in front of his television watching a drama that Sunggyu had never seen before, let alone hear of. But the two of them seemed all too familiar with it. They seemed more bored than anything. “I’d rather watch a platter of cheese for a solid hour than watch this drama,” Kate whined. She turned to her boyfriend. “How can this drama be called _Cheese in the Trap_ and not have any cheese in it?”

“It’s one of life’s mysteries,” Sungyeol answered seriously. “Like how white chocolate is still called ‘chocolate’ but doesn’t have any cocoa beans in it.”

“It doesn’t?”

“Nope,” Sungyeol responded. It was strange. They were carrying a conversation all throughout the show, but at the same time, they had barely tore their eyes away from the screen. They’d been following it closely. Whereas Sunggyu had already grown tired of it and was in the kitchen, scrounging for food.

“If you guys don’t like the drama, then why are you watching it?” he shouted over to them as his head was deep in the fridge. All of this cheese talk made him hungry for it.

Kate yelled back, “I devoted too much time. Besides…”

“Piano scene! Piano! Two sips!” Sungyeol cut her off excitedly.

There was a pause in the conversation. Sunggyu closed the fridge door and walked out of the kitchen to see them drinking from the beer they’d brought along. “Yeol and I made a drinking game for it,” Kate finally explained after she was done drinking and place the beer can besides her.

“What did we say about drinking?” Sunggyu asked in a stern voice.

“I remember!” Kate snapped back. She then leaned over and whispered to Sungyeol lowly, “I’m not supposed to drink anymore.”

“Okay. Let’s just do it secretly then. He doesn’t have to know,” he whispered loudly back, obviously wanting Sunggyu to hear them. The couple then began giggling at their ‘devious’ plan. Sunggyu rolled his eyes and sat on the other side of Kate.

“Oh!” Kate exclaimed, pointing at the screen. She put her other hand on Sungyeol’s back. “She asked for money again! Drink,” she commanded. And Sunggyu did as he was told. He picked up her beer can and began drinking from it. “Hey that’s mine,” Kate complained after she had searched for her drink only to find that he’d stolen it.

“It’s one sip, right?” Sunggyu asked as he took another swig from the can.

Sungyeol leaned over, peering around Kate. “Gyu, are you playing with us?” he asked, pleasantly surprised.

“Might as well,” Sunggyu said, putting the can down by his side. “How about we invite invite the neighbors over?” he suggested.

The couple looked over at each other and shrugged. “Okay.”

When the neighbors joined in on the game, Kate and Myungeun opted for cola instead of alcohol, which ended up being a good idea in the long run. The rules that Sungyeol and Kate made had them drinking almost at every turn of the plot (just how many piano scenes did one episode need?). Luckily for Sungyeol, he and his lanky body had a high tolerance and could withstand the hits. Unfortunately for Sunggyu and Myungsoo, they became tipsy fairly quickly, and Myungsoo grew excessively chatty the more that he drank, which was good because they’d missed some cues to drink and the impromptu party became less about watching the drama and more about talking to each other.

All the while, Sunggyu kept an eye on his two friends. The dynamics between the three of them hadn’t really changed. Sure the two of them whispered a bit more to each other and the skinship between them had increased, but Sunggyu never felt shut out by them. He didn’t become a third wheel, and after realizing that, he breathed a great sigh of relief.

“YES!” Kate cheered at what just happened on the screen. Her and Myungeun were the only ones who were still paying close attention to the drama.

Sungyeol watched the drama for a few seconds before turning to his girlfriend in disbelief. “Are you really cheering because she got hit by a car?” he asked. Kate could only nod because the only noise she could manage right now was laughter. “Why are you laughing?”

“It’s funny,” she wheezed through her laughter, which was renewed after seeing the heroine on the pavement with blood slowly dripping from the side of her head. Myungeun glanced over at Kate and took a drink (she’d been drinking whenever the elder had laughed inappropriately).

And Sungyeol turned to her dear old friend Sunggyu for an explanation. “Don’t look at me. That’s your problem now,” Sunggyu said, pointing at the mess of the girl on the floor.

“You know what? I think I can deal with that,” Sungyeol spoke fondly. He then walked over to Kate and urged her to get up. “Come on, it’s time for the club meeting.”

“Oh right,” she muttered as she let Sungyeol help her up. Kate searched for Sunggyu then said, “We’d already told them we were coming, but you can come to! It would be fun, like old times!”

Sunggyu thought for a few seconds. A lot had changed since the ‘old times,’ and the couple was proof of that. Sunggyu politely declined, “You guys, go ahead. I think I’m going to try to study.”

“Myungeun-ah, it’s time for us to go too,” Myungsoo announced to his little sister. “We’re going to our parents’ house tonight and celebrating her acceptance into the company,” he explained to Sunggyu. He then pat the elder on the back. “But this was fun. We should do this more often.”

Meanwhile, Myungeun got up from her spot and shuffled over to her brother, who patted her head warmly as soon as she came near, but the teenager’s eyes were on Sunggyu. “Thank you, oppa, for inviting us,” she spoke as if she rehearsed it.

“Aigoo, good girl,” Myungsoo cooed. “Come on, let’s go!” he spurred her on and the two of them left. Sungyeol and Kate followed them soon after, leaving Sunggyu once more with an empty apartment, which now seemed to grow even bigger and colder.

Sunggyu sighed after seeing the door shut and walked over to his window. After a few seconds, he could see Kate and Sungyeol walking out on the doorstep. Kate stopped, however, a couple of steps from the bottom and tapped on the other’s shoulders. When Sungyeol turned around, he noticed that they were the same height. They then laughed, bringing their heads closer and closer together until...Sunggyu ripped his gaze away. He shouldn’t be watching them like this. It wasn’t his moment; it was theirs, and he was invading it.

Sunggyu walked away from the window and fell onto his bed, face first. That drama without any cheese, Sunggyu had an eerie feeling as he watched it, like deja vu. Sungyeol and Kate were much like the lead’s best friends, too much alike. Sunggyu had a stalker too, like the one in the drama. Then there were all the deceits and misconceptions at every twist and turns, which left your head spinning wondering what character you could trust, which was a feeling that Sunggyu was grappling with right now in reality. Sunggyu thought he could trust a person like Inho, although he was a bum and horrible with money, just like lending someone money for tuition when you have little to spare (Myungsoo). But what about a person like Yoo Jung? Someone who had tortured the heroine? Someone who could make lies out of the truth and the truth from lies? Sunggyu didn’t want to trust a person like that, although Hong Seol eventually did. She fell in love with a person like that. But dramas weren't like reality, and people don’t overcome prejudices that easily. Their pride gets in their way.

Sunggyu had many prejudices in his life, but he was starting to think he didn’t have a Yoo Jung. Maybe slowly and with effort, Sunggyu could overcome them.

Sunggyu rolled out of bed and put on his jacket. It was time for his grand return back to the club.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drunk Kate spoke mostly in Infinite song lyrics. See if you can guess them all! And Myungeun/JIN was singing her own solo song "Gone."


	5. Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a trap! But for who?

They called this a meeting for the Conversational English Club, but the only English word that Sunggyu could hear once he entered the restaurant (the one Woohyun’s family owned) was “one-shot!” Once he walked closer to their table, he could see at least one couple trying to seriously converse in English: Karen and Hoya, who were seated in the middle of the group. The rest of the group was happily drinking and eating. They were so cheerful that it was intimidating. The group seemed impenetrable. Even though Sunggyu knew each and every one of the people sitting at the table, he felt like he didn’t at the same time. Together like this, they seemed different. He had half a mind to turn around, give up, and return home. But, Kate and Sungyeol, he could sit by them and slowly work his way in. Where were they anyway?  _ Oh, there at the end of the table _ , with their backs turned towards him, which was unfortunate for Sunggyu because they couldn’t see him and call him to join them. But sitting across from them was  _ him _ , Woohyun. He was laughing, hard, at something that Sungyeol had just said. The three of them, they were actually close friends,  _ really _ close. It wasn’t just the three of them, it was all of them. Jang Dongwoo, with whom Sunggyu had hardly talked, was heartedly patting Sungyeol’s joke, also laughing at the joke. Sunggyu swallowed harshly and averted his gaze, growing more and more anxious by the second. This was different from the club he used to know. Did they all get along better without him?

“Sunggyu-ssi!” Finally, someone noticed him, and it wasn’t one of his good friends.  _ Peanut is the only one who cares about me _ .

“Sunggyu?” Sungyeol repeated in great shock as he spun around in his seat. Once he saw his friend, standing there awkwardly, Sungyeol’s eyes lit up, and he jumped up from the table to usher his hyung to the table. “Oi! What are you doing here? I thought you were studying.”

Sunggyu frowned as Sungyeol put his hands on his shoulders and guided him towards the group. “You don’t seem happy to see me. Maybe I’ll just go back,” Sunggyu grumbled. He tried to twist around and out of his friend’s grip, but Sungyeol held on tighter and forced him to walk towards the table. A chair suddenly appeared at the end of the table.

“No, no, no, no! Sit down!” Sungyeol commanded as he pushed the elder down in the new seat. Kate moved down so that Sungyeol could sit next to him. “I’m happy. Really happy to see you. Just surprised is all. Here.” Sungyeol slid a glass towards him and filled it with beer from the pitcher at the table. Sungyeol then stood up a bit from his seat and waved to the owner of the place (Woohyun’s mom). “Imo! Can we have one more place-setting?” he asked and pointed over at Sunggyu. Sunggyu could only give her a short and apologetic bow before hiding his face behind his hand and turning his head. But now his eyes fell on her son, who was staring at him with a blank face. Sunggyu quickly shifted his gaze over to Kate, whose expression matched Woohyun’s perfectly.

“Speak of the…” Kate swallowed the words that she almost said and then put on an embarrassed smile. “I mean. We weren’t just talking about you,” she tried to remedy.

“Smooth, Kate,” Sunggyu spoke lowly before picking up his glass and taking a long drag from it. This was going to be a long evening. He could feel it already.

“What? Are you like one of those creatures that come if we say your name three times?” Kate asked, turning the whole situation into a joke. “I should have tried this earlier.” She turned towards him, leaning over Sungyeol to get closer to him. “Kim Sunggyu. Kim Sunggyu. KIM SUNGGYU!” her voice raised every time she spoke his name.

“I’m here!” Sunggyu exclaimed, waving his hands cutely. There was a scoff at his side. Woohyun was rolling his eyes at him. Sunggyu picked up his glass again.  _ Why did I come here? _ He gently shoved Kate away. “Stop it. I’m already here,” he put an end to their play.

“What made you change your mind?” Sungyeol asked as he pulled a dejected Kate back into her seat.

Sunggyu’s eyes fell down to the glass in his hands. “I wanted to check on something,” he mumbled. 

“What?”

Sunggyu shrugged and drank instead of answering. What should he say? The whole truth? His gaze flittered over to Woohyun. No, Sunggyu put down the glass down on the table with thud. It’d better if he were to keep it to himself, for now.  _ Maybe if we were alone, we could speak about it more freely. Clear the air _ . Thankfully, Sungyeol let him be and then left the table for the bathroom. 

But his seat was soon taken by Jang Dongwoo, who was emboldened by the atmosphere and (alcohol) and began talking to Sunggyu as if the were old friends. Dongwoo’s arm was on his shoulder, shaking him happily. “I’m glad you could take a break from studying and come hang out,” Dongwoo announced after a few moments of casual conversation. “This is a treat!”

“Uh, thanks,” Sunggyu awkwardly replied. “It’s good to be back.”

Sunggyu felt a tap at his shoulder. He leaned back in his chair and saw Kate leaning back as well. She brought a hand to the side of her mouth. “We told them that you quit so that you could catch up on your studies because your real reason was stupid,” she spoke in a loud hissing voice that she called ‘whispering.’

“Was not,” Sunggyu retorted and shoved her away. “Get off. Don’t you have a boyfriend to bother like this?” he hissed as he sat back in his chair. Hot breath hit his ear as soon as he returned to his spot.

“Your real reason for leaving was  _ stupid _ . So we lied for you,” someone whispered loudly into Sunggyu’s other ear. Sungyeol was back from the bathroom. 

But before Sunggyu could shove him away too, Kate called out to him, “Boyfriend!”

“Girlfriend!” Sungyeol exclaimed back.

“Sit by me,” Kate commanded in a saccharine voice, patting the now empty seat besides her (Dongwoo had fled to the other side of the table and Sunggyu half-wished that he had too).

“Already am,” Sungyeol responded back just as cutely.

Kate spun towards him. “I was told to bother you, so...bother, bother, bother!” she squealed as she tickled Sungyeol’s side and made him squirm in his seat (and whack Sunggyu with his flailing elbows).

And Sungyeol looked as if he were going it for awhile. But he was only liking her attention; the tickling, he hated. So he eventually snapped, “Stop it. STOP!”

“Sorry,” Kate apologized, pulling her hands into her lap and facing forward with her head hanging low.

Sungyeol smiled, watching her as she turned in her seat. “Let’s see how you like it,” he teased and began tickling her in return.

“Stop. It tickles!” Kate squealed but she was barely fighting against him.

Sunggyu had to look away. They were embarrassing him. “Wah! It hasn’t even been two days, and I’m already sick of you two as a couple,” he tried to speak harshly but his broad smile was betraying him, revealing that he was joking. “Break up.”

“I think they’re cute.” Sunggyu had forgotten that Woohyun was even there until he had spoken up. He lifted his eyes up to the man. He could tell by the look on Woohyun’s face, he’d taken Sunggyu’s words seriously.  _ What does he think of me? Would he really think I’d mean it? _

“You would,” the words slipped past Sunggyu’s lips before they registered in his mind.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Woohyun growled, narrowing his eyes on Sunggyu’s.

“I...I don’t know,” Sunggyu stammered. He couldn’t help it. Even when he was trying to be pleasant, even when he felt wronged, Sunggyu’s first instinct was to insult Woohyun, to be short with him.  _ It’s getting worse _ . Sunggyu wasn’t only stirring the pot, but he was turning up the heat. Soon there’d be no soup left, nothing for Sunggyu and Woohyun to fed on and grow. They’d die; their relationship would die.  _ Do I want that? Do I still want that? _

“Sunggyu-ssi!” Luckily, someone pulled him out from drowning in the thoughts swirling around in his head. Ho...ya. It was Hoya, standing up in as he was preparing a lettuce wrap in his hand, piling one thing after another. It was all too big for one person to eat (comfortably). “Since you came back, you have to undergo our new initiation rite,” Hoya announced, gesturing to the wrapt in his hands. “We all had to do this, so it’s only fair.” As a finishing touch, he added a splash of soju to the wrap, and then another when Hoya didn’t deem it enough. “I’m making this with  _ lots _ of love.”

“What is it?” Sunggyu whispered to Sungyeol.

“Soju wrap,” Sungyeol spoke in a distracted voice, his eyes fixed on the said wrap.

“Did you all do this?” Sunggyu asked. There’s no way they  _ all _ did.  _ What are they? Insane? _

“Yes,” Dongwoo answered.

Karen then raised her hand. “I took a pass,” she revealed.

Hoya nodded. “All but Canadians have to do this. It’s a rule,” he glossed over the entire issue, the tips of his ears turning red. Sunggyu scoffed. Hoya probably came up with that rule to appeal to her. Well, it worked.

However, there was one person who took the rule seriously. “Stupid rule. I was  _ this _ close,” Kate whined. Her boyfriend patted her sympathetically on the back.

“So how do you become a Canadian?” Sunggyu joked, but if Karen was willing to take it seriously, then Sunggyu would have no problem singing ‘Oh Canada’ and eating poutine for the rest of his life if it meant getting out of eating that wrap.

“Stop stalling,” Hoya called him out. He was already making his way to Sunggyu at the end of the table. “I put a lot of effort into this. I think it’s my best one yet.”

“He’s gotten good at this,” Dongwoo spoke as if it were a real accomplishment.

“My man is  _ very _ special. So many gifts,” Karen, on the other hand, was completely sarcastic, but was still smiling at him fondly as Hoya pulled Sunggyu up from his seat. Sunggyu was waving his hands in the air, saying ‘no’ as many times as and as quickly as his lips would allow.

“Kim Sunggyu! Kim Sunggyu!” That drudged up a irritating memory from months earlier, Woohyun chanting his name. Sunggyu’s gaze flew over to the man who was still happily chanting his name, and the others had slowly joined him. And while Sunggyu’s mouth was still and hanging wide, Hoya took the opportunity and crammed the wrap in his open mouth. But that wasn’t the end of it. The real point of the soju wrap was, of course, the soju, which Hoya was pouring into Sunggyu’s already full mouth. Sunggyu tried his best to swallow, to chew, to do everything to get rid of the damn thing from his mouth, but it became too much, entirely too much. He had to get rid of it any way that he could, so he spat it up, all over the table (and Sunggyu was too afraid to see where else it had landed). He brought his hand up to his mouth to catch the most that he could, which was very little. He kept his head held low and hand close to his mouth as he sprinted off towards the bathroom. 

Before he even looked at himself in the mirror, Sunggyu washed out his mouth and cleaned his face and hands the best he could. Then he finally looked up at his own reflection. His face was so red that it was threatening to turn purple. And there was a large trail of soju, food, and maybe drool down the front of his shirt. He sighed as started washing his shirt with water and a paper towel.  _ Why did I even come? Can I even go back out there? _ Sunggyu zipped up his hoodie, covering the stain, and stared at his reflection again. His face was more of a pink now. He was decent enough to return to the meeting.  _ But do I want to? _

There was a timid knock at the bathroom door. “Sunggyu?” Kate called out to him cautiously through the door. “Are you okay?”

“Yea,” Sunggyu replied after peeking his head through the door. He wasn’t risking coming out of the bathroom just yet. His eyes darted around to see if anyone else was there. It was just her, and she looked anxious. Sunggyu stepped out. “Did you all seriously do that?” he asked as he closed the door softly behind him.

“Yea, and you did better than most of us,” she consoled him. She then sputtered into a laugh at the memory of them trying. “You should’ve seen Woohyun try,” she wheezed, but she quickly tried to suck that statement back into her mouth, knowing how sensitive of a topic  _ that _ was, and tried to hold back her laughter by sealing her lips and keeping her face still. “It was funny,” Kate spoke, barely moving her lips. She then gestured at her friend to follow her back into the dining room.  “But Dongwoo and his big mouth, wow, it was perfect.” They passed by the person that she was talking about. “Good job!” she praised as she sat back down at her seat by her boyfriend.

“Do you want me to do it again?” Dongwoo offered.

“Maybe later,” Sunggyu wasn’t going to say ‘no’ to that, but he also didn’t want to see another one of those wraps for the rest of his life (or at least for the rest of the night). 

Hoya then stood up straight, craning his neck to look at Sunggyu. “Is everything okay?” he asked, looking even more nervous than Kate had. Guilt was practically written across his face in big, bold letters.

Sunggyu smiled the best that he could manage. “Yea, everything is fine,” he replied.

Hoya looked convinced by that and relaxed. “Good,” he said and returned to talking to the others.

Sungyeol tapped at the elder’s arm, trying to get his attention. “Are you okay?” he whispered lowly, wanting Sunggyu to tell him how he really felt. But it wasn’t the time for that. Other  _ people _ could still hear.   
“Yea,” Sunggyu lied. “Why is everyone asking that?” his voice cut through the air. He was annoyed.

“Because you look like you’re about to kill someone,” Woohyun answered, stepping into the conversation. Sunggyu whipped his head towards him and glared at him as sharp and cutting as his voice was earlier. But Woohyun wasn’t pained by it at all. He gave a half-smile and sighed before turning to his own drink. “Just saying,” he muttered and then took a sip.

“Well...I’m not,” was all Sunggyu could manage to say in response, and just barely so. His gaze softened and lingered on the other, but Woohyun wasn’t paying him any heed. Sunggyu frowned. He’d been annoyed by Woohyun, he’d been tricked by Woohyun, he had been harassed by Woohyun, but he’d never been ignored (even when they were acting like statues, they’d at least greet each other). Now, Woohyun was completely ignoring him, and was starting to turn his back to him as he was talking to Peanut. What was this? And what was this feeling? Out of everything Woohyun had done to Sunggyu, he hated this the most. All Sunggyu wanted to do tonight was to have an honest conversation with him, but that was seeming to be less and less of a possibility. They’d barely spoken to each other so far, and the meeting was nearing it’s end.  _ How am I supposed to get rid of this? _ Sunggyu wondered as he rubbed his chest. He had a lot stacked up inside. It was suffocating him, just like the soju wrap earlier.

“Woohyun-ah,” that wasn’t Sunggyu who called him but Kate. Woohyun finally sat back straight in his seat and looked at his friend attentively. “You have something here,” she revealed, pointing to his sleeve. Sunggyu looked down to where he was pointing and then quickly looked away, cursing underneath his breath. It was his spit-up from earlier. He had not only spat up all over the table but also all over Woohyun.

Sunggyu raised his head slowly but not his gaze. “Woohyun, I…”

“Shit,” Woohyun swore. He immediately pushed back his chair and stood up. “I’m gonna change,” he declared in an annoyed voice before leaving.

Sungyeol scoffed. “It wouldn’t be the first time he had to change at one of these things. It’s lucky that he lives next door,” he remarked. Sungyeol reached over and tapped his friend on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m not!” Sunggyu snapped back, and Sungyeol immediately raised his hand and pulled it away before Sunggyu could bite it off. 

Sungyeol pushed Sunggyu’s glass in front of him. “Drink,” he insisted. “You need to calm down.” Kate then tapped her boyfriend to get his attention and signaled him to stop and leave him be. After doing so, she leaned over at looked at Sunggyu.

“Is there anything that I can get for you? Food?” she suggested.

Sunggyu’s mouth drew tightly across his face as he shook his head. “I’m not hungry,” he answered. “I lost my appetite.”

“Well, if you find it,” Kate forced the joke and the laugh. “Just tell me.” She then leaned back but not before casting a never glance at Sungyeol who waved her off and whispered that he’d ‘be fine.’ Man, those two really needed to get better at whispering. The whole table probably heard them. Everyone knew that he’d be ‘fine’ but for now he wasn’t.

Sunggyu took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as his gaze traveled to the door. They had barely spoken to each other all night, and Sunggyu couldn’t even get out an apology. Maybe it was too late. There was nothing left to stir in the pot. It had all evaporated into the air. Did he even hear me?

Restaurant's bell rang. Someone was coming in through the door. It was Woohyun, who probably threw on the first shirt that he could find because it was a little too thin for the cold night. Sunggyu opened his mouth, getting ready to spit out his apology as soon as Woohyun sat down. But Woohyun never did. He was just a flash of blonde hair darting past the table. Sunggyu looked about him. No one else seemed to notice or acknowledge Woohyun’s return. They were carrying on the same conversation uninterrupted. Even Sungyeol and Kate didn’t see Woohyun. Sunggyu was perplexed. Was he really the only one? Was it not really Woohyun but a figment of his own mind? Sunggyu leaned back in his chair and craned his neck, searching for him. It wasn’t hard. Woohyun’s bright hair contrasted greatly against the dark walls, like a beacon. But the beacon was slowly fading as Woohyun opened up the back door to the restaurant and exited out of it. Sunggyu cocked his head.  _ Where is he going? _ Well, there was only one way to find out.

Sunggyu got up from the table and followed Woohyun out the door.

* * *

The door led outside to a small fenced in area. Sunggyu quickly found Woohyun at the edge of the fence, putting a bag into a trash can. Sunggyu winced. Several curses bounced around his head and he bit his tongue, forcing them to stay inside. Of course, this was Woohyun’s family’s place. He was probably checking up on his parents and asked if he could help, like a good son, like Sunggyu probably would’ve done. What was Sunggyu expecting to find out here? For Woohyun to reveal his ‘wolf’ side and howl at the moon?  _ I am stupid _ . Sunggyu tried to sneak back out, but it was already too late. Woohyun’s head whipped towards him as soon as the door creaked open. Woohyun stared at him blankly for a second or two before placing the lid back onto the trash can.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. It had almost sounded like a sigh, as if he’d knew it’d be Sunggyu.

“I was just...curious,” Sunggyu stammered as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. At least he spoke the truth this time. He was improving. He then dropped his hand, stuffing it into the pockets of his hoodie. He finally had his chance, and he was going to take it. “I wanted to talk to you.”

Woohyun crossed his arms over his chest (Sunggyu hoped it was because of the cold more than anything else). “About what?” he responded. His voice still had an edge to it (so it wasn’t because of the cold).

Sunggyu tried to disarm him with a smile. “I just think that we need to,” he reasoned. He didn’t quite know where to start, but this was as good of a start as any. They were already speaking more to each other right now than before, even if Woohyun were to turn him down and walk away.

But luckily for the both of them, he didn’t. “Well, there’s something I want to talk about,” Woohyun revealed. He stepped closer to the other. His arms tightened across his chest. “I heard Kate and Yeol whisper to you earlier.”

“Aish,” Sunggyu interjected with a curse. He chuckled out of embarrassment knowing exactly where this was leading, but he still tried to distract the other, “They are  _ so _ loud.”

It didn’t work. “You didn’t need to leave because of your studies, so why did you quit the club?” Woohyun asked, finally meeting his gaze.

“Seriously?” Sunggyu checked.

“Seriously.”

Sunggyu took in a deep breath before he took the plunge. “Because of you,” he finally said it. “Because of you, I quit.”

Woohyun’s eyes rapidly blinked as he looked away. “I knew it,” he admitted, a faint smile flashed across his face.

“How?” Sunggyu couldn’t believe it.

“The way you look at me,” Woohyun revealed. His eyes fell back down onto the other, razor sharp. “You look at me differently than you look at everyone else.”

“No I don’t,” Sunggyu immediately denied, loudly too. His voice echoed in the small alleyway.

“You do!” Woohyun’s voice matched his. “You look like you’re tired of me all the time.” At that, Sunggyu rolled his eyes (he didn’t even notice that he was doing so). “Wah! Look! You’re even doing it now,” Woohyun exclaimed in disbelief. “Why?”

“Because I am!” Sunggyu snapped back, but then he immediately corrected himself. “Or I was. Everyone loved you because you were ‘cute,’ but I could see through that.”

“See through what?” Woohyun said with a scoff. And that’s when Sunggyu saw it for the first time that night, Woohyun’s canines flashing in the moonlight. Sunggyu saw the wolf that he was so familiar with, Woohyun’s ‘true’ nature (or what he’d thought to be true). And Sunggyu felt his anger rise.

“Anybody can see that you being ‘cute’ is just a desperate cry for attention,” he shouted.

“So?” Woohyun spat with a shrug.

“So?!” Sunggyu repeated, mocking him, even his shrug. “It’s all fake! You act like that so that later on people will pity you, think you’re helpless, and do stuff for you,” he argued.

“I don’t ask people to do stuff for me…that often,” Woohyun added the last part after Sunggyu raised an eyebrow at him. He’d admit to that but he refused to back down. He finally uncrossed his arms and pointed to Sunggyu. “You! You were the one who thought I was helpless and did the whole presentation because you were afraid that I’d mess it up. And I let you because you’re so f***ing difficult.”

“Really, I’m difficult?” Sunggyu placed his hand over his chest, blinking in disbelief.

“Yes!” Woohyun yelled. “I mean, you hate me because I’m cute and people dote on me for it. You hate me because I like attention. Well so do you!” Now his finger was digging into the other as he stepped closer and closer to him. Sunggyu could see and  _ feel _ his breath, hot and heavy against the cold air.

“No I don’t,” Sunggyu denied. He batted the other’s finger away and then shoved him away.

And Woohyun just allowed himself to stumble backwards, exaggerating how hard Sunggyu had shoved him. “Really?” he challenged, cocking an eyebrow and the corner of his mouth picked up into a knowing smirk. “With your sarcastic remarks about everything, trying to draw a laugh? You being the smartest in class so that people could look up to you? You talking ALL the time? Really? You  _ really _ don’t like attention?”

“Fine, fine,” Sunggyu gave in. “I like it too.” Now he was the one to cross his arms over his chest and avert his gaze. He slowly backed up against the wall, hiding slightly in the shadows. He didn’t know Woohyun could read him so easily. It made him feel uncomfortable, vulnerable. He didn’t like it.

“You and I.” Sunggyu cautiously looked up at the other as he began to speak again. Woohyun seemed to feel just as uncomfortable with the situation as he did. The corner of his mouth was shaking as he tried to maintain his fragile smile. “We might be more alike than we think.”

“That’s a scary thought,” Sunggyu remarked with a slight laugh.

“Yea it is.”

* * *

“Where did they go? Everyone is about to leave,” Sungyeol muttered under his breath as he stepped out of the bathroom. His head was on a swivel as he searched the area for Sunggyu and Woohyun. The meeting had come to a close and people were already starting to leave. There was talks of making a second round elsewhere. He should at least invite the other two, even though he was certain wet-blanket Sunggyu would opt out to study or sleep. But no one had seen Woohyun since he left to change, and Sunggyu disappeared suddenly as well. Sungyeol swore that he saw a flash of his hyung walk down this hall. He assumed it would be the bathroom, but it was empty.  _ Maybe he already left?  _ Sungyeol guessed.  _ I should at least check the kitchen to see if Woohyun’s there, or at least say ‘hi’ to his mother _ .

As he was on his way to the kitchen, Sungyeol passed by a door that he’d never noticed before, and the only reason he took notice now was because there were loud noises coming from the other side. Sungyeol cocked his head and stared at the door for a few seconds, suspiciously.  _ What is it?  _

“No I don’t!”

Ah, that voice, Sungyeol knew that angry shout very well. He finally found his hyung. Sungyeol stepped closer and pressed his ear against the door. “Oh!” he gasped. Woohyun seemed to be behind the door too.  _ What are they doing? _ Sungyeol’s hand rest on the doorknob, wondering if he should open the door and interrupt them. 

“Because you’re so f***ing difficult!” Woohyun’s muffled voice went through the door.

Nevermind interrupting them, this was getting interesting. Sungyeol held his breath as he pressed his ear and cheek closer to the door. This was gold, entertainment gold. He bit his lip, trying to keep him from laughing. 

“What are you listening to?”

Sungyeol’s eyes flicked to the side. Thankfully it was only Kate, so he answered honestly, “Sunggyu and Woohyun.”

Kate clapped her hands together in delight. “Are they out there?” she asked, stepping closer to her boyfriend. Sungyeol put his finger to his lips, silently telling her to be quiet, and nodded, Kate skipped the rest of the way and wiggled herself between Sungyeol and the door. “Move over, please,” Kate begged even though she was already forcing her way. Sungyeol still stepped slightly back so that she could crouch down with her body flushed against the door. His own body was pressed against her back. But the both of them were too busy eavesdropping with their ears pressed against the door to think anything of it. 

As Kate was settling herself in, she had noticed something. “Oh,” she gasped and a sly smirk slowly formed on her face. The door had a lock, as most doors do. But unlike most doors that Kate had encountered, this door had the ability to lock both Woohyun  _ and _ Sunggyu outside, together, alone, in the cold, and if they are left there for too long, they might have to huddle together for warmth. Unable to fight against all of the temptations that her mind was spewing, Kate finally reached up and turned the lock.

“Are you crazy?” Sungyeol hissed as soon as he heard the lock click. He removed his head from the door and looked down at his girlfriend who was smiling gleefully back up at him.

“No. I’m cupid,” Kate responded while thinking,  _ I’m pretty much writing their love story now. _

“Huh?”

“Um, wouldn’t it be interesting?” she reiterated. “Let’s just see what happens.”

Sungyeol gave a short chuckle. “You  _ are _ crazy,” he retorted, but a broad grin overtook his face. “I like it.” And with that, the sneaky couple returned to listening through the door the best that they could. The conversation was just getting interesting.

* * *

“There are some things that I want to get cleared up,” Sunggyu suddenly declared. He had found an upturned trashcan to sit on top of, and he sat with his back pressed against the brick wall. His eyes fixed on the sky, even though it was dark, cloudy, and lightless, but he deemed it better than the other view he had (a pissed-off Woohyun, that Sunggyu had made that way).

“Like what?” there was a quiver in the other’s voice.

Sunggyu’s gaze fell down. Okay, now Woohyun’s arms were crossed over his chest because of the cold. He was shivering. He was angry and shaking from the cold. Sunggyu’s hand played with the zipper of his hoodie. Should he? Shouldn’t he?

Sunggyu dropped his hand, stuffing it in the pocket of his sweatshirt, deciding against it. “Like that day we had a group meeting. Where were you coming from?” he asked the other.

“I was working here,” Woohyun replied, nodding towards the restaurant behind them.

Sunggyu narrowed his eyes on Woohyun. Something was amiss. “Hoya said you were out drinking,” he recalled, catching Woohyun in his lie.

“Then he must have misunderstood when I said that I was at the restaurant. I might’ve wrote that I was serving drinks. Or something,” it was a weak excuse. Woohyun didn’t sound at all convincing, just cold.

“Are you telling the truth?” Sunggyu challenged. He couldn’t keep his skepticism in check. 

Woohyun scoffed at Sunggyu’s blatant doubt. “Do you want to ask my mom?” he offered, uncrossing his arms and reaching out for the door knob.

“Ah, no!” Sunggyu objected and stood up from his seat. He successfully stopped Woohyun who was now leaning against the wall too, close to Sunggyu, as close to Sunggyu as he could to siphon off his heat but not too close so that the two of them felt uncomfortable. Sunggyu sat back down, deflating into his seat. “It’s fine,” he murmured. He then quickly glanced at Woohyun before turning his eyes to the sky again. “What about Inha? I  _ know _ you stuck her on me.”

“Okay, well that I did on purpose, to mess with you,” Woohyun admitted with an anxious chuckle. Sunggyu kept his eyes to the sky, but he felt Woohyun’s glare burning through him. Sunggyu shifted awkwardly as Woohyun further explained, “But you really pissed me off when you cut me out of the group project. And you’d been giving me dirty looks all night. You deserved to be harassed a little like you were harassing me.”

Sunggyu then snapped his head to look at the other. They both stared at each other for a moment or two. Woohyun sniffed, and he just appeared miserable, almost as miserable as Sunggyu himself was feeling.  _ I harassed you? _ Sunggyu tore his eyes way. If he’d thought Woohyun to be a wolf, what was he then to Woohyun? A fox? Sunggyu finally pulled down the zipper of his hoodie, roughly pulled it off, and handed it to the other without sparing him a glance. And Woohyun appeared to be too cold to refuse. Once Sunggyu felt the sweatshirt being taken from his hands, he finally looked at the other out of the corner of his eye. Woohyun had put on the sweatshirt quickly and pulled down the sleeves to cover his hands. Sunggyu’s eyes fell down to his own hands, which were hiding in his long sleeves.  _ We might be more alike than we think. _ Sunggyu roughly pushed his up sleeves to his elbows and cleared his throat awkwardly before asking, “What about Inha, though? It wasn’t nice to use her like that.”

“Well, I thought it’d be better for her, to chase you over me,” Woohyun struggled to put it into words. His voice dropped. “It wouldn’t have been nice of me to keep being nice to her either.”

Sunggyu glared at him. “In what world…” he muttered. It had made no sense. And before he could complain anymore, Woohyun revealed it all.

“I...I don’t like girls, or at least I think I don’t,” he spoke in a voice above the whisper. It was shaking again. This time the cold wasn’t to blame. Sunggyu stiffened but kept his gaze on the other, trying to remain as unchanging, unfazed as he could. “Not many people know about that. Inha  _ surely _ didn’t catch on,” the teasing joke Woohyun said with more surety than anything else.

Sunggyu laughed. “She’s oblivious,” he added.

“Right?” Woohyun chuckled a few times, but it was soon strangled in his throat. His gaze flickered over to Sunggyu but then fixed on his feet. “But I told Kate. She knows.” 

“Huh?” 

“Yea,” Woohyun grunted. His eyes darted everywhere: his feet, the sky, the trash, Sunggyu. He sighed, at a loss for what to look at. “She said it would be good if we got to know each other because…”

“I don’t like  _ them _ either either,” Sunggyu finished off the other’s sentence (Woohyun was taking too long to say it).

“Right,” Woohyun seemed calmer now, voice was more steady. He moved along the wall, setting his shoulder against it and facing Sunggyu head one. A faint smile played at his lips. “But just having  _ that  _ in common won’t make us get along. Obviously,” he added, gesturing into the empty air.

“Obviously,” Sunggyu repeated and turned towards the other. “But...It clears up a lot of things,” he muttered lowly, more speaking to himself than anything else.

But Woohyun had heard it and it piqued his curiosity. “Like what?” he didn’t let it go.

“The relationship between you and Kate,” that one was easy for Sunggyu to admit. Her closeness with Woohyun didn’t seem suspect anymore. She had been his confidant, and probably he was hers, judging how readily he understood that he couldn’t eat lunch with them for a stretch of time.  _ And she could barely confess it to me _ . But the second admission came with a great struggle. Sunggyu sped through it as quickly and lowly as he could, “...that you’re probably not having an affair with Professor Kang.”

“Affair with Professor Kang? Who? Me? ME?!” Woohyun exclaimed in disbelief, chuckling as if it were a greatest joke he’d ever heard.

“What’s the relationship between you two anyway?” Sunggyu tried to divert the attention back onto the other.

“I referee for the boys’ soccer clubs. Sometimes the girl teams don’t have refs, so Kang asks me to referee for her daughter’s games,” Woohyun explained. And this ‘excuse’ made complete sense, much more sense than Sunggyu’s accusation. _ It’s not even an excuse. It’s the truth _ . Sunggyu covered his reddening face with his hands. “You thought I was having an affair? With her?” Woohyun couldn’t even ask the question without breaking into another peal of laughter.

Sunggyu leapt from his seat. He wasn’t going to take this sitting down. Nam Woohyun was still partially at fault. “Well, you were being very secretive about it all! What else was I supposed to think?” Sunggyu reasoned.

Woohyun did his best to keep his laughter in check, but his smile revealed that he was on the verge of cracking into it again. “Okay that was probably my fault,” he confessed. “You’re really fun to mess with sometimes. So easy too.”

“Am not,” Sunggyu objected.

“You are. And then you get that look,” Woohyun revealed. He then tried to mimic Sunggyu’s ‘look,’ letting his eyelids fall down until they were mostly closed and then opening them up as wide as he could in horror.  _ I do not look like that _ . But apparently Woohyun thought he did. He chuckled at his own imitation.

“I think we’ve talked enough,” Sunggyu grumbled lowly as he made his way to the door. His hand gripped the doorknob and he tried to twist it. It wouldn’t budge. He tried again and failed. His head whipped towards Woohyun (probably wearing the ‘look’ that Woohyun had just imitated). “The door’s locked!”

“What?” Now Woohyun panicked too. He elbowed Sunggyu out of the way and tried to open the door. “It’s locked!” he exclaimed.

“That’s what I just told you!” Sunggyu whined. How little trust was there between them?

But Woohyun just ignored that remark and began banging on the door. “Help! Can anybody hear us? Help! Mom! Mommy!” he called out to anyone who could hear. But then, after realizing what he was saying, his gaze flittered over to Sunggyu. “Don’t give me that look. If your mom was here, you’d be calling for her too,” he excused himself.

“I’d be yelling for her louder,” Sunggyu admitted without any qualms. “Who could hear that?”

* * *

On the other side of the door, Sungyeol was chuckling silently to himself, biting his knuckle in order to stifle it. “He’s calling for his mom,” he muttered to Kate. “Daebak!”

“What do we do? What if she comes?” Kate asked in a panic.

That stopped the laughter. “Oh, I didn’t think of that,” Sungyeol murmured.

Kate took in a deep breath and closed her eyes tightly. “Woohyun-ah?” she called out to her friend in a disguised voice. She almost sounded older. Kate then jiggled the doorknob, acting as if she were trying to open it. “Oh, son, the door is jammed,” she whined, nasally. Sungyeol gave her a thumbs up. With the door as a filter, she probably sounded exactly like Woohyun’s mother.

* * *

“Mom?” Woohyun muttered with his ear pressed to the door. He pulled away and looked at Sunggyu. “That doesn’t sound like her,” he declared. Woohyun then pointed to the space between the door and the frame. “I can see the bolt too. I don’t think it’s jammed.”

Sunggyu winced. He had a sneaking suspicion as to who was behind the door.  _ You’ve got to be kidding me _ . But he tried to play around with the lame rouse, “Woohyun’s mom?”

“Hm?” there was a nasally hum coming from the other side of the door.

“Should we just try to break down the door?” Sunggyu offered, shouting. “Woohyun-ssi and I can do it by using the stuff out here.”

Woohyun put a hand on his shoulder, pulling the other to look at him and see his confused face. “What stuff?”

* * *

“They said they’d break down the door,” Kate hissed up to Sungyeol.

“I heard it,” Sungyeol groaned, rubbing his face roughly as he thought. “We can’t let them do that. I’m not paying for it.” He sighed and concluded, “I guess we unlock it then.” 

Kate clasped the hand reaching for the doorknob with both of hers. “No!” she objected, falling onto the door but still holding his hand tightly. “Just a little bit longer. They’re almost there.”

“Almost where?”

“Son, don’t break down the door!” she continued her poor imitation. “We’re getting...stuff.”

* * *

“Aish!” Sunggyu cursed as he pulled his ear away from the side of the door. “It’s Kate and Sungyeol.”

“Hm? Why would they lock us out here?” Woohyun murmured as he pulled away from the door as well. He then shook his head. “Nevermind. I know. I know,” he spoke with a groan. Kate probably had been pestering him as much as she’d been bothering Sunggyu. “What did they expect to happen? For us to come out as friends?”

“Probably,” Sunggyu concluded. “They watch too many dramas.”

“Unfortunately for them, this isn’t a drama,” Woohyun remarked at turned towards the door, devoting his whole attention to it, set on unlocking it. Sunggyu sighed as he watched the other examine the door carefully.  _ That’s right. It’s not a drama _ . Maybe it was entirely too late for them to overcome these issues and prejudices. Sunggyu himself held grudges, so Woohyun probably did too. How would Sunggyu feel if he knew that someone had thought so little of him?  _ Awful. I’d hate it. I’d hate him.  _

“And when I get out of here, they’re dead,” Woohyun grumbled as he struggled with the doorknob. He couldn’t break the lock by force. He tugged on the tail of Sunggyu’s shirt to tear the elder away from his thoughts. “Do you have a credit card? Or your ID card? I could unlock the door with it,” he asked.

“Yea. In my jacket back inside,” Sunggyu revealed with an apologetic smile.

“Great,” Woohyun grumbled as he let go of the doorknob. He then began banging on the door again, harder than before. Much harder.

* * *

“Sungyeol-ah! Kate! Let us out!” Woohyun’s voice rang through the door as clear as day.

“Damn, how did they know it was us?” Sungyeol exclaimed in disbelief as he jumped away from the door, making his girlfriend, who was leaning on him for support, stumble backwards and fall to the ground. Kate stood up with a groan. She turned to Sungyeol and was about to speak.

“KATE! Let us out!” But Sunggyu’s voice cut her off sharply.

“Don’t let him out,” Sungyeol demanded, pulling her away from the door as if it would hurt her. “He sounds angry.”   
“Eh, he’s not angry,” Kate dismissed. “He’s just  _ really _ loud.”

“KATE!” Sunggyu’s voice was louder now than ever.   
“Okay, so  _ maybe _ he’s angry,” she yielded.

“You think?” Sungyeol teased her. He then lifted his eyes to the door and bit his lip as he thought of how to deal with this situation, how to escape. But he knew that they both couldn’t. “Run,” he commanded of her. “You can still make it out of here alive.”

“What about you?!” Kate asked. 

“One of us has to unlock the door, and it might as well be me,” Sungyeol reasoned. “I can outrun them, maybe.”

Kate nodded, giving in. But she reached up and pulled him down by placing both of her hands on his cheeks. “Run fast!” she wished before giving him a kiss. “You’re my hero,” Kate spoke after letting him go.

“I know,” Sungyeol replied with a growing smile. He then placed his hand on her back and began to tried to urge her to move. “Now go!”

He didn’t need to say it twice. Kate took off with a sprint as was already almost out of the front door. Sungyeol first watched the door shut behind her, making sure that she had enough of a headstart. After it closed, Sungyeol swallowed harshly. It was now or never. And he was really considering on the “never” part and just backing away slowly from the door and leaving those two savage beasts to fend for themselves out in the cold. But, sadly, they were his friends and this was the very least that he could do for them. Sungyeol took a deep breath before he took the plunge and he unlocked the door.

Sungyeol didn’t even see the door swing open because he was already running away as fast as he could. But he could hear it slam against the wall. And he could also hear the angry shouts and curses that were dogging his every step. He could feel ice cold fingers grazing his neck, trying to grab at his collar. But Sungyeol manoevered away and picked up his pace. In the process he nearly stumbled over a chair. He managed to dodged it, narrowly. Since he was close to it, he kicked it over, hoping that it would trip up one of his pursuers. Judging by a piercing yelp, it did. Sungyeol smiled in triumph, but his heart was hammering away in his chest. His breath was getting shorter and shorter. He didn’t know how much longer he could last.

“SUNGYEOL-AH!”

A voice of an angel, his savoir! “Yeol, get in!” Kate yelled. She had gotten a taxi with the time Sungyeol had given her. She was already inside, but she was leaning halfway out of the car with her hand stretching out towards Sungyeol. And he took it. She pulled him inside, and the door closed behind. He was safe. He collapsed onto Kate as he tried to regain his breath. They were both safe from those monsters, the fox and the wolf.

* * *

Woohyun and Sunggyu were panting heavily as they watched the taxi slowly peel away from the curb and travel down the street at a snail’s pace. They could easily overtake it, but there was really no point to pursue it. They gave the other two enough of a fright. Those two would apologize the next time they’d all meet. And that was probably the most that Sunggyu could hope for.

But this situation that he was in now was more than he’d hoped for,  _ much _ more. First of all, he had a throbbing pain in his shin from when Sungyeol had kicked a chair at him.  _ That’ll bruise _ . So he was walking around with a slight limp as he made his way back into the restaurant. Second, he realized that along with his friends, the rest of the group had also left. All that remained was him and Woohyun, who was picking up the fallen chair, putting it back in its place, and then began to work on restoring the dining room to it’s usual state, removing any trace of the meeting. Sunggyu wished he could too, but...Third, he and Woohyun had talked, a lot. It was what Sunggyu had wanted to happen, what he’d hoped for. However, he had planned on what he’d say to Woohyun, what he’d ask of him, but Sunggyu never planned on what to do afterwards, what to do with this awkward silence and thick tension, and how to ask for his sweatshirt back. But he knew where to start. 

“I’m sorry,” Sunggyu apologized. Before this night, Sunggyu never imagined saying those words to Woohyun (or at least not genuinely), but now, he didn’t know what else to say besides that. 

“For what?” Apparently Woohyun hadn’t expected it either. He stopped what he was doing as he asked, literally freezing in position, still crouched over the table and about to pick up a discarded spoon.

Sunggyu nervously pulled at the ends of his sleeves. How was he supposed to answer? ‘For getting us locked outside’? ‘For spitting up all over you’? ‘For cutting you out of the project’? ‘For thinking so little of you this entire time’? ‘For everything’? Any one of those would be better than what he’d actually said. “Stuff,” he grumbled through barely opened lips. 

Woohyun took it though and the spoon from the table; he did so with a small smile. “I’m sorry for stuff too,” he said back. It sounded like he meant it, and he wasn’t just teasing Sunggyu (oh, Woohyun was still poking fun at him though).

Sunggyu grinned too. That was easy, and so was the silence that now fell between them. No longer tense, just easy. Sunggyu hobbled over and helped him to clear the tables and to divide the large table back down to separate ones. He’d wished that this easiness would start being the new normal for them, no more struggling, no more butting heads, just smooth sailing from here on in.

Sadly, that didn’t seem like it was going to happen. Sunggyu’s stomach rumbled loudly, impossible to ignore although he tried. Woohyun didn’t though. “You hungry?” he teased. They had just put the last table into its original place.

“No,” Sunggyu tried to brush the matter away. But his stomach was a bigger traitor than either Kate or Sungyeol, and it angrily rumbled again. “Maybe a little,” he confessed with a nervous laugh.

“Me too. Let’s get something to eat.”

* * *

In spite of being at a restaurant, there was no food leftover from the meeting, and Woohyun (and Sunggyu) would rather not bother his parents into making some more. Instead, the two of them left and went to a store nearby, opting for ramyun, something cheap yet substantial to fill them up. But ramyun wasn’t enough for Sunggyu. He had nothing all night besides beer and almost a soju wrap. Now that he’d found his appetite again, he found a lot of it. He grabbed several pieces of triangle kimbap and filled his ramyun cup with water before joining Woohyun at the counter, who was already stirring his noodles.

“Who eats as much as a wrestler at this hour?” Woohyun remarked after seeing the pile of kimbap laying next to Sunggyu’s cup.

Sunggyu picked up one and began unwrapping it. “I’m not giving you one,” he spoke in a singsong voice. He then took a big bite before speaking with his mouth full, “This is  _ all _ mine.” He glanced over and smiled at Woohyun’s saddened face. Sunggyu was beginning to (truly) see through Woohyun’s ploys better. He was becoming as easy to read as the instructions on cup ramyun (well, Sunggyu  _ thought _ he could read Woohyun that easily before, but it had turned out that Woohyun’s instructions were in a completely different language).

“Kimchi,” Woohyun interjected. “Buy Kimchi.” Sunggyu looked over at him, interested, but kept eating. Woohyun continued, “I want to buy one, but I don’t have 500 won. Ramyun without kimchi is like bread without red bean and cabbage wrap without pork and chicken without pickled radish.” He then paused and cocked his head. “What else is there?” Sunggyu didn’t answer in words but instead dug through his pockets and slammed a 500 won coin onto the counter. “Thank you,” Woohyun chirped as he left to go buy his beloved kimchi.

Sunggyu eyes followed that blonde mop of hair until they couldn’t anymore. He then faced the window and threw his head back. “This is so good,” he exhaled as he finished his first piece of kimbap. He didn’t know if it was the brand or the fact that he’d been starving, but that was the best kimbap he’d ever had.

Woohyun soon came back with a small packet of kimchi. He plopped it onto the counter and peeled off the lid. “Bon appetit,” he mumbled as he took out a piece and put it into his mouth. He hummed, completely content. While he was busy eating, Sunggyu reached over to take a piece of kimchi as well. Woohyun had caught him doing so out of the corner of his eye. “Don’t eat that,” he warned and pulled the packet away from the other’s reach. “It’s mine.”

Sunggyu glared at him “I paid for it,” he argued.

“You bought it for me, so it belongs to me,” Woohyun retorted.

“Then we can share,” Sunggyu stated, not even waiting for the other to respond before he tore of the lid from his cup ramyun and began putting his share of the kimchi on it.

“Split it exactly in half,” Woohyun interjected. He then took some from Sunggyu’s pile and put it back into the packet. “You took too much.”

“Ah, wait,” Sunggyu whined as he now tried in earnest to divide it more evenly between them. “Okay,” he muttered when he was done. The two of them ate for a few seconds while looking each other up and down, making sure that the whole food issue was settled. After no other move was made, Sunggyu gave a short chuckle. “You must be really strapped for cash if you don’t have 500 won for kimchi,” it wasn’t until after he’d blurted that out was when he realized it wasn’t an appropriate thing to say.

But a lot of inappropriate things were said by both parties that night, and so Woohyun wasn’t even fazed by the remark. “It’s because of you,” he replied. Sunggyu stopped chewing and looked over at him. “I was thinking that I’d get the business school scholarship to pay for my classes next semester, but because you’re the top student, you’ll get it,” Woohyun explained with a heavy sigh.

“Can’t your parents help you pay for it?” Sunggyu asked.

Woohyun shook his head. “I don’t want them too,” he answered. “They should invest more in the restaurant instead, so I told them I could handle it. I told them not to worry. I’d get a scholarship.” Woohyun then looked over at Sunggyu and heaved another great sigh. “I lied,” he muttered before slurping up his noodles.

“There are probably other opportunities and scholarships…” Sunggyu began.

“Like being Kang’s research assistant?” Woohyun cut him off. Sunggyu swallowed his food down harshly. “Yea, I was counting on that too. I had been talking to her all semester, trying to get on her good side. I thought that I had an ‘in’ after reffing for her daughter’s games, but no,” he mumbled. He put down his chopsticks and gave Sunggyu that fake, fragile smile. “I couldn’t pay for school because of you, so you could at least buy me 500 won worth of kimchi.”

Sunggyu winced.  _ I didn’t even let him have all of that _ . Sunggyu inhaled sharply. No, he shouldn’t let the other guilt him (too much) for being a better student or for having better luck. “Well, at least you have Myungsoo,” he retorted.

“Yes, thank god for Kim Myungsoo and god damn Kim Sunggyu.”

“Fine!” Sunggyu finally gave in, pushing his share of the kimchi over to Woohyun.”You can have all of it!”

“Thank you!” Woohyun took the lid from the other happily. And then he reached over again to take the last piece of triangle kimbap. “I’ll just take this too.”

Sunggyu slapped his wrist. “Don’t push your luck.”

* * *

If Sunggyu thought talking about financial matter was crossing a line, he’d forgotten that they’d crossed a gaping ravine earlier. It was only natural that Woohyun would want to return to it: “So you like guys?”

They had just thrown out their trash and were now walking out of the store. “Yea,” Sunggyu replied casually. He looked the other up and down and cocked his head. “But I have high standards.  _ Really _ high. You probably couldn’t reach them even if you tried, shorty,” he joked.

“Shorty?” Woohyun repeated with a scoff. “Fine, I’m short. But I’m  _ all _ handsome,” he gave in partially. Sunggyu raised an eyebrow at him. Woohyun snorted at that. “Whatever. It’s not like I’d be interested in a guy like you anyway,” he remarked.

Sunggyu stopped in his tracks. “Why not?” he blurted out.

Woohyun faced him and coyly replied, “Do you  _ want _ me to like you, or not?”

Before this night, Sunggyu had always wanted to hit Woohyun for saying things like that, but it wasn’t until this night when Sunggyu realized Woohyun said those things, begging to be hit. Sunggyu stomped up to the other and punched him lightly on the shoulder. “You say some  _ really _ weird things,” he spoke through gritted teeth as he did so.

“It’s fun,” Woohyun excused himself. And for that, Sunggyu hit him again.

“ _ This _ is fun,” Sunggyu retorted and hit the other for a third time. “This is a  _ lot _ of fun,” he said happily now hitting the other a bit harder.

“You’re a bully,” Woohyun whined and then threatened, “I’m going to tell my mom!”

“What?” Sunggyu blubbered and froze with his fist still in the air.

Woohyun grinned because he’d successfully stopped the other. He rubbed his arm gingerly. “It hurts a bit,” he said with a pout.

Sunggyu reached over and pat where he’d hit. “Sorry,” he apologized.

Woohyun dropped his hand, stuffing them into the pockets of the borrowed hoodie. Sunggyu stuffed his into his jean pockets, almost the same but still different. Woohyun smirked for a second but it fell away. “You’ve been saying that a lot tonight,” he murmured.

“Well, I got a lot to be sorry for,” Sunggyu admitted as he began walking again. Woohyun followed, soon joining his side. “I’m a big enough man to admit when I am wrong,” he spoke coolly.

“Ooh!” Woohyun exclaimed, impressed. But then he clicked his tongue as he leaned forward, tilting his head sideways in order to get a good look at the other. “Yea, I guess you are pretty big, especially around here” Woohyun concluded, gesturing with his hands around the stomach. 

“Yah!” Sunggyu shouted, raising his fist again, but Woohyun had sprinted up the street.

“Sorry! Sorry!” Woohyun yelled back as he ran. However he ran to only at far at the corner of the block, and there he waited for the elder to catch up with him, which he eventually did. Sunggyu was walking at a leisurely pace and slowly enough to calm down by the time he’d reached Woohyun. Once they were together again, they turned the corner and Woohyun tried to start up the conversation again: “You know, this is probably the most we’ve ever talked to each other. Tonight.”

“I guess so,” Sunggyu mumbled. He wasn’t quite sure how to continue off of that. Guess at why they hadn’t talked more? No, they both knew why. Should he say that he enjoyed it? Well, Sunggyu didn’t enjoy  _ all _ of it. It was probably best for him to say nothing more on the matter. And so the conversation had died almost as soon as Woohyun had tried to breath life into it again.

Woohyun laughed nervously. “And I just ruined it by saying that,” he stated.

“Do you ever think before speaking?” Sunggyu teased the other, laughing along with him.

Woohyun shook his head. “Not always.”

“It’ll get you into trouble one day,” Sunggyu warned him.

“It already has,” Woohyun revealed. “Almost,” he quickly added after that. Sunggyu kept silent, wanting the other to elaborate, and that silence was more than enough of an invitation for Woohyun: “I told my mom once that I’d marry any girl of her choosing. Just pick a girl out, and I’d marry her on the spot.”

Sunggyu sputtered, chuckling as he asked, “Why would you say something like that?”

“To show that I trust her? Make her happy?” he guessed with a shrug of her shoulders. “I don’t know. It just came out.”

“What did she say?” Sunggyu was caught up in the story. “Some moms would jump on that chance.” He knew that his would.

Woohyun smiled broadly. “Not mine,” he bragged. “She knows when I’m saying shit for the sake of it, when I get carried away with the mood. Haven’t you ever done that before?” he asked the other. Sunggyu looked up, trying to sort through his memories, searching for an instance. He was sure that he had. His mouth was big and his lips were loose. Several instances came up in his search, but none appropriate enough to tell Woohyun whose mouth was as big as his, if not bigger (his lips surely were, so judging by those...). Woohyun, however, took Sunggyu’s silence wrongly. “Is it only me?”

“No, I have too,” Sunggyu tried to assure him. “My mouth has gotten me in trouble a lot!” That prodding was all he needed for a decent example to come to mind: “I had this pair of pants that I liked. Hip-hop pants. Do you remember those?”

“Yea, a little,” Woohyun replied.

“Well, I liked them. Wore them a lot. But my mom hated them. She said that I looked like I popped my pants,” he grumbled lowly at the last part, recollecting the same contempt that he felt back then. But it had made Woohyun laugh, which caused him to as well. “I know, right? She didn’t understand fashion,” he joked.

“Ah,” Woohyun hummed knowingly. “So that’s where you get it from, your fashion sense.”

“Sh!” Sunggyu hushed him and tried to rub away the cheeky smile from the other’s face (Woohyun had dodged him though). “Anyway, where was I? Oh, yea, she threw out my pants,” Sunggyu continued his story. “And so, to get revenge, I threw out her make-up. I know. It was bad of me. What made it even worse was that when she asked what happened to her make-up, I said my noona used it all. I didn’t even think about it. It just came out. And then she had to buy a new set for my mom.”

Woohyun rolled his eyes and pointed out, “That’s not really your mouth getting  _ you _ into trouble, but your sister.”

“Right,” Sunggyu mumbled. He looked up again and the night sky, this time stopping (or that might be because Woohyun had stopped walking first). “When did  _ I _ get in trouble…” his voice drifted off as searched again through his mind’s eye.

“If you come up with one, tell me later, okay? Don’t hurt yourself now trying to think of one,” Woohyun joked through a yawn. And when his hand covering his mouth fell down, it rested on a doorknob. It was his house. They were standing in front of Woohyun’s house.  _ When did we get here? _ “I’m getting sleepy,” Woohyun added.

Sunggyu’s eyes fell from the door and onto his watch. The two of them had stayed out for longer than he expected. “When did it get this late?” he thought out loud.

“I don’t know,” Woohyun replied. Sunggyu looked up from his watch to the other’s face. Woohyun was just as at a loss as he was. But Sunggyu wondered if they were at a loss over the same matter. For Sunggyu, he didn’t quite know how to say goodbye. He had unintentionally walked Woohyun home, Nam Woohyun. And they had spent most of the evening alone, but it wasn’t a date. No it was far from it, which was why he was so confused about how to put an end to the evening. Should stay until Woohyun went inside? Or was Woohyun going to wait to go inside until Sunggyu left? The both of them were hovering and with their gazes flitting everywhere but on each other. 

“I’ll see you at school, okay?” Woohyun hesitated as he finished the statement, staggering through it. He opened the door, but would not step inside.

_ I guess I would leave then _ . Sunggyu drew a tight lipped smile across his face and nodded. “Okay,” he agreed. He then began walking down the street, waving at the other. “Bye, Woohyun.” 

“Bye, Sunggyu,” Woohyun said back, waving and watching the elder walk down the street. Curious, Sunggyu walked backwards, waving at the other all the while, wondering how long Woohyun would do the same. And they kept awkwardly waving at each other until Sunggyu had turned the corner.  _ What is this? A waving contest? _ He chuckled to himself at that, while he crossed his arms over his chest. It had gotten cold all the sudden. “My sweatshirt!” Sunggyu ran back to the corner and peered down Woohyun’s street. “Oh, now you go inside!”

Kim Sunggyu might’ve understood Nam Woohyun a bit better that night, but Woohyun was still irritating, just in different ways now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The most annoying thing about the drama for me was that Hong Seol and Yoo Jung dated too quickly. That's not going to happen here. I like things nice and slow. But there will be more than enough excitement soon.


	6. Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone is incredibly cheesy this chapter.  
> (Answer: it's me!)

For nearly a year, Woohyun wondered if there were two separate Kim Sunggyus at the University: the one that he heard of and the one that he knew. The Kim Sunggyu that he heard stories of was courteous, kind, and protective of his friends. He was smart and clever in an admirable way. The Kim Sunggyu that he knew, on the other hand, he was reticent, intolerable, and didn’t seem to have many friends to his name. He was still smart and clever but in the most terrible of ways. He was cunning. He was scary. And Nam Woohyun used to think that Kim Sunggyu could see right through him, but he was wrong. Kim Sunggyu didn’t know Nam Woohyun at all.

Who was Nam Woohyun? Woohyun was the youngest son of a relatively stable BBQ restaurant. He had an older brother. He used to also have a dog (but the Nams don’t talk about Kongddeok anymore). He was currently studying business in hopes of better managing his parents’ restaurant one day and maybe making a chain out of it. He wasn’t the most motivated student in high school. It was almost a miracle that he got into as good of a college as he did. But he was more motivated to take his studies seriously now, motivated by scholarships and his dreams of becoming a successful adult.

Some would say that he was like a “golden boy,” but that was in looks only. Woohyun was often told, “This must come easily to you.” It never did. Everything in Woohyun’s life came after much struggle and hardships. Things never quite seemed to go his way.

He wanted to be the successor to his family’s restaurant, no matter how small it was, but his brother was instead as he was the oldest. He was the reason why the Nams got a puppy, and also the reason why they don’t talk about the puppy anymore. After his below average career as a high school student, he did eventually get accepted into the University, but it was through unconventional means (he applied to another, easier program and then transferred to the business school). He had finally immersed himself into his studies and tried to be the best student that he could, only to be foiled by Kim Sunggyu every single time. And no matter how hard he tried to be healthy, he always seemed to manage to change a dang cold (like the one he had now).

At the beginning of the school year, he had bleached his hair blonde, hoping to literally become the golden boy that everyone thought he was. But he was just left with a burnt scalp, damaged hair, and no change in his fortune. Changing his hair didn’t change who he was. Nam Woohyun would still be Nam Woohyun, even if he shaved his head.

Nam Woohyun might’ve stayed the same, but his perception of someone else changed: Kim Sunggyu. He had caught a glance of the Kim Sunggyu that he heard of the night Kate got inordinately drunk. Sunggyu had given up his night just to play with her and to lift her spirits. His friend became his priority. And at the end of the night, when Kate lacked a good portion of her motor skills, he looked after her with the same gentleness as a father would for his own daughter. Woohyun hadn’t expected Sunggyu to carry her _all_ the way back to his place. Woohyun was fully prepared to take her onto his back at any point in time. But Sunggyu never gave her up (probably because he didn’t fully trust Woohyun with her, but that only added to his protective nature).

But that Sunggyu went away almost as quickly as he came. For the next few days, Sunggyu was as silent as the grave and stern. Sunggyu would glare at him out of the corner of those sharp eyes. Woohyun tried to ignore him the best that he could, ignore Sunggyu like Sunggyu was ignoring him (sort of), but it was hard to do so under the heat of that glare, slowly bringing Woohyun up to a boil, to his breaking point.

And then he broke. They both did, at the meeting Saturday night. They fought, then they ate, and then they called it a night. And Woohyun hoped that with it, their night ended too, all of those dark stares and even darker misunderstandings about each other. Tomorrow would be another day for them.

The new day already started to break that night, when Woohyun saw the Sunggyu that he heard of again that night, but this time, that Sunggyu was directed towards him. Sunggyu handed Woohyun his sweatshirt, and Woohyun was warmed by it and the sudden kindness. And that was when Woohyun started to think that he was wrong. There was only one Kim Sunggyu all along.

Woohyun also hoped for a new day, in general. If there was only one Kim Sunggyu, then maybe Nam Woohyun only had to be Nam Woohyun, not the golden boy, not the top student, just Woohyun. So Woohyun wanted to get back to his roots, literally, and dyed his hair back to black.

Now Woohyun didn’t really think that changing his hair color would really impact his life, but it was a strange coincidence that later that Sunday, he received an email from the University’s head librarian. He had applied for a job there and practically begged her for it (he had no money to even afford shame), and he got it. She didn’t care about his grades. She gave him the job because she liked him; she just liked Nam Woohyun, the shameless and desperate boy. That boy was just fine.

After Woohyun messed with his new hair, he stepped out of the bathroom and noticed the sweatshirt, draped over his chair. Tomorrow, their new day, Woohyun would give it back to him, to the one Kim Sunggyu.

* * *

 

Monday morning, Woohyun went to school early so that the librarian could show him around before his shift later that afternoon. After that was finished, he went to get some coffee. Woohyun wasn’t accustomed to waking up so early, but he would be eventually. Several of his shifts at the library would be in the early morning, when the sun was barely out and eyes were barely open. But today, now, the sun was shining bright and a gentle breeze urged him to keep moving forward, pushing at his back. And that breeze carried him all the way to the coffee shop, where he saw his friends. Well, his friends and Kim Sunggyu. Woohyun began to smile as he stepped inside. “Good morning! Fancy seeing you guys here so early,” he greeted them.

“Hey!” Kate welcomed him, surprised. “I never see you up this early.”

“I didn’t know that you could get up this early,” Sungyeol teased.

“I can. I just won’t if I don’t need to,” Woohyun retorted jovially. He then side-eyed Sunggyu who was staring at the counter, waiting for his order. Woohyun’s grip on his messenger bag tightened. _It would be awkward if I returned the sweatshirt now, wouldn’t it?_ His gaze quickly snapped back to Kate and Sungyeol, who were both taking turns at yawning. _Especially with those two around._ Woohyun forced his smile a little wider. “Why are you guys up so early?”

“Morning classes,” Kate spoke through a gaping yawn. “Statistics too. My brain can’t handle numbers this early.”

“Same here, except different Stats class,” Sungyeol grumbled.

Woohyun then peered around the couple to see the man behind them. “What about you?” he asked Sunggyu.

“Homework,” Sunggyu answered. A coffee cup was then placed on the countertop, and Sunggyu snatched it up before the barista could even announce what it was. “See you around,” he muttered as he walked past the trio, quickly giving Woohyun a side glance and a half-smile before leaving. And the three of them remained silent for a moment or two while watching Sunggyu walk in one direction down the street, only to turn around and walk the other way while grumbling to himself.

The barista then announced into the still air, “Two Americanos!”

“Americano?” Kate repeated as she walked up to the counter, staring at the cups as her languid mind was running calculations. Then the results came in and she gasped. “Sunggyu took my caramel macchiato!” She pouted as she picked up the cup. “I can’t drink this,” she whined. “Too bitter. I need coffee to be sweet like me.”

“Do you want to get another?” Sungyeol suggested as he sniffed loudly and picked up his own drink.

Kate shook her head. “No, just hand me the cream and sugar,” she replied, and her lackey/boyfriend followed her order, handing her both. As she was pouring in copious amounts of each (enough to make a normal person’s stomach churn), Kate turned to Woohyun again. “So why are you up?”

Woohyun tore his eyes away from the door and gave her a shadow of the smile he had earlier. “I got a job.”

* * *

Had Woohyun’s new day already come to an end? Or was the dawn still breaking? He couldn’t tell, but he was getting cold in the darkness. Sunggyu’s cold shoulder wasn’t doing anything to help the situation either. Woohyun had waited for the other outside of Kang’s classroom, but Sunggyu showed up at the very last moment that he could. It was as if Sunggyu had waited for Woohyun to give up and go inside the lecture hall before going in himself. What was he doing? Was the fox really lurking in the shadows, waiting until he could sprint in safely? _Probably_ , Woohyun concluded. Because Sunggyu’s face, when he noticed that the only spot open was the one next to Woohyun, went from relief to terror. It was as if he’d fallen into a bear trap, and the metal jaws suddenly clamped shut. Woohyun looked away and focused on the teacher again. _I thought we were over this_. Kim Sunggyu had split into two again.

Whether there was one or two of them, Woohyun was going to make use of the one he’d caught. Right after Kang ended her lecture, as Sunggyu was getting ready to make his escape, Woohyun growled as soon as Kang dismissed the class, “Why are you avoiding me...again?” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sunggyu fall back down in his seat. Woohyun sighed before continuing. “Don’t lie to me and say you aren’t. Just be honest. I can take it.” He slowly shifted his gaze to the other as he spoke.

“I’m wary around you,” Sunggyu answered after laboring over the question for some time.

It had taken the elder a while to respond, and when he finally did, Woohyun hated it. He didn’t understand it. “That’s an odd thing to say. Why? Am I really that scary?” he tried to make a joke of it. Woohyun had been a lot of things in his life, but ‘scary’ wasn’t one of them.

At least that was something he and Sunggyu could agree on, partially: “No. You’re not scary, but…”

“But what?” Woohyun urged him. This fox was greedily devouring all of his patience, slyly dodging a straight answer at every turn and trying to shake Woohyun off of his scent. But Woohyun wouldn’t let him go. “What’s scary?” he repeated.

Sunggyu finally turned towards him. “The way I feel is scary,” the answer bit, the truth slowly sinking its teeth in.

“Huh?”

“I like you one moment, and I hate you the next. I feel like I could tell you anything and nothing at all. I still don’t know if I can trust you,” Sunggyu’s answer bit down harder, striking the marrow. But he tried to soften the painful blow with an anxious smile. “Don’t you feel the same way?”

“What the...how am I supposed to take that?” Woohyun blubbered, looking down at his lap, at the bag in his lap. _Why are you making this so hard?_

“I don’t know,” Sunggyu gave a response to multiple questions with one answer. “But it’s the truth.”

“I don’t know,” Woohyun repeated as he unzipped his bag and roughly sorted through it. “I don’t know how else I’m supposed to convince you.” He pulled out the sweatshirt and dumped it in front of the other. “Here. I didn’t mean to take it, really,” he insisted adamantly because Sunggyu just kept staring at him in disbelief.

“Oh!” The both of them whipped their heads towards the sudden sound. Kate and Sungyeol were standing at the doorway, looking pleasantly surprised to find them together. “Woohyun-ah! Do you want to get lunch with us?” Kate asked.

“Sorry,” Woohyun apologized. He shot one last, pointed glare at Sunggyu. “I don’t eat lunch...anymore.”

The remaining three watched as Woohyun briskly walked out of the room. Kate’s gaze shifted quickly from Woohyun’s back to Sunggyu, who was still sitting in his chair. “What did you do?!” she snapped.

“Me?!” Sunggyu exclaimed as he finally got up from his seat and walked over to his friends. “I didn’t do anything. Maybe he’s not hungry.” It was a lie, and they all knew it.

Sungyeol also knew that it wasn’t a matter worth pursuing at the moment. “Forget it. Forget it. Let’s just eat now,” he stopped his seething girlfriend from asking any more questions. “ _I’m_ hungry. I haven’t had anything besides that americano earlier,” he complained and lead the other two out of the room.

“Oh? Why?” Kate pestered him now, walking quickly up to his side. “You need to eat more. If you had told me, I would’ve gotten you something.”

 _Thanks, Yeol_ . The last thing he needed today was someone to ask him more questions that he really couldn’t give answers to. How was he supposed to know why Woohyun was so upset? Sunggyu (could admit it now) hardly knew him. And as they walked to the cafeteria, Sunggyu’s eyes continuously scanned for any trace of the wolf, but he couldn’t find a single golden flash anywhere in the crowd and nowhere in the cafeteria. Sunggyu shook his head, reprimanding himself. What was he doing? He wasn’t quite so sure anymore. And why was Woohyun so upset? _Do you really not feel the same way? Not knowing whether to like or hate? Did you already make up your mind?_

* * *

“Who ended up winning that bet? That drama with the one girl and a lot of guys?” Sunggyu suddenly asked while they were eating lunch. For some reason, his thoughts drifted back and anchored onto that drama, perhaps because he was yearning for a ‘simpler’ time, when he was happy, when they all were.

“There’s a lot of dramas like that,” Sungyeol answered, his voice drifting off as he sorted through his memory.

Kate knew what drama Sunggyu had meant. “Myungeun did. Taekkie was the husband,” she replied. Her shoulders then slouched; she was dejected. “I _guess_ they suited each other.”

“You guess?” Sunggyu wanted clarification. He hadn’t watched the entire series but that character didn’t seem bad enough to warrant that reaction from her.

“I still think that Dukseon and Dongryong understood each other better,” she revealed. “And isn’t that important in a relationship? Understanding?” she directed the questions to Sungyeol, hoping to give her support.

“He still wasn’t good-looking enough to be the husband,” but Sungyeol refused to, and instead hit her with the hard truth that was dramaworld.

“But do all husbands have to be good-looking? People find different things attractive,” she argued and soon launched into a rant. “There are some _really_ ugly guys out there, but their wives fawn over them as if they were Joongki. Just look at Inha and Peanut. It’s probably the same for _all_ couples. Everyone thinks that their boyfriends are the most handsome and their girlfriends are the prettiest when they aren’t,” her voice then caught in her throat. Her eyes slowly peered over to her boyfriend, whose eyes were shut tightly and who had tucked in his lips, holding onto his last fiber of patience that she was wearing thin. Kate now realized that. “But I lucked out because I’m _actually_ dating the most handsome guy in the whole world. _Seriously_ ,” she quickly added, patting Sungyeol’s arm with extra vigor.

“Nice save,” Sungyeol retorted, relaxing once more.

“Thank you,” Kate chirped and then focused back on her food.

“You have a point though,” Sunggyu remarked. The couple looked up and stared at each other before looking back at Sunggyu. “About how a relationship can’t thrive unless you understand someone very _very_ well,” he clarified. He then dropped his voice as he rest his cheek in his hand, “Sometimes, misunderstandings can stop you from being friends.”

“Talking from personal experience?” Sunggyu raised his gaze and did not like the coy look on Kate’s face after she said that, and hated it even more when she wiggled her eyebrows at him. Then Sungyeol entered his sights with the same (annoying) expression on his face. Both of them gradually leaned forward, pressuring him to answer with their impeding presence.

“Maybe,” Sunggyu finally (and reluctantly) admitted.

Pleased with that, the couple fell back into their chairs. “We all know who you’re talking about,” Sungyeol spoke in a teasing tone. “Let me be the one to say the name: Nam Woohyun,” he added a dramatic pause for effect before finally dropping the name. Sungyeol then gestured over to Sunggyu. “Okay, so what’s the deal between you guys now?”

“Yea, tell us,” Kate tried to spur him on too. The two of them then stared at him so intently while they ate. _Wait, I’ve seen this before_ . _No..._

“My life isn’t one of your dramas,” Sunggyu spat back. And god forbid that they make a drinking game out of his life too.

“I know,” Sungyeol retorted with a sly smile. “Those are more exciting.” He and Kate high-fived without looking at each other (and they missed and tried again).

But that didn’t slow them down and they kept teasing him. “We would’ve gotten a kiss scene by now,” Kate declared.

“Or two,” Sungyeol added with a nod.

“Maybe this is like one of those historical dramas with 50 episodes,” she suggested.

Sungyeol then cocked his head as his eye analyzed Sunggyu. “Yea. He _is_ pretty old-fashioned,” he concluded.

And Kim Sunggyu finally had enough. “Go ask Woohyun, if you’re so curious. I’m not telling you,” he growled. _He’ll like the attention_ , he thought, but that thought was soon followed by another which kept echoing: _We’re more alike than we think_.Sunggyu lowered his head into his hands, rubbing his head, trying to stop...everything.

“I already did,” Kate admitted. Sunggyu raised his head. She did seem guilty, and she was on her phone earlier, texting somebody (and with Sungyeol reading over her shoulder). Was it Woohyun?

“Really? What did he say? Did he say anything about me?” the questions shot out of Sunggyu’s mouth before he realized that they had even formulated.

Kate cocked an eyebrow. “Do you really wanna know?”

“Tell me,” Sunggyu insisted with a slight whine.

Her other eyebrow raised to join the other. “Are you sure?” she asked again.

Sunggyu hit the table with his hand. He had her. Kate didn’t feel guilty for talking to Woohyun behind his back, but because she was lying through her teeth. “You’re lying. You didn’t talk to him,” he declared with a grin as he watched her crumble.

“Okay so I didn’t,” she confessed. However she wasn’t done: “BUT you _like_ him...as a person, maybe even as a friend” she added after Sunggyu scoffed. “It’s so obvious.”   
“So obvious,” Sungyeol agreed. “Why can’t you two just be friends already? It’ll make our lives a lot easier.”

Kate pouted. “I feel like we’re children of divorce, spending half our time with one parent and then the rest with the other,” she spoke with a heavy sigh, sounding despondent.

“Yea except _our_ parents never got together,” Sungyeol pointed out.

“Exactly! So just be friends!” Kate implored her old friend.

Sunggyu averted his eyes. He wished he could say ‘yes’ at this point. Honestly he did want to be friends with Nam Woohyun. It seemed like they’d get along and on Saturday they had played nicely with each other. However, it was awkward, mainly for three reasons. First, Sunggyu’s instincts and habits couldn’t change so easily with his new wish. He wanted them to, but it was something that needed time. Trust couldn’t be built in a day or over a weekend. Second, something about being with Woohyun was still unsettling. Sunggyu couldn’t put a name to it, but he still felt uneasy, and that was probably because of the third reason. Third, after all the misconceptions that he had about Woohyun and told Woohyun, he didn’t think friendship would be possible. Sunggyu himself held grudges, so why should he expect Woohyun to be any better?

“Isn’t it too late for that? For us to be friends?” Sunggyu surmised his feelings.

Kate shook her head. “Why? It’s not.”

“Is it ever too late for friends?” Sungyeol challenged. He then turned to his girlfriend. “Sorry, Kate. It’s after 1pm. We can’t be friends anymore.” While Kate was pretending to be upset, Sungyeol returned his attention back to Sunggyu. “Now doesn’t that just sound silly?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Sunggyu huffed.

“Then what do you mean?”

“He hates me,” he finally said aloud. “You saw him earlier. He hates me. He does. There’s too many grievances,” his voice dropped lower and lower. At the last few words, he barely moved his lips. It was hard to admit this to himself and especially to those who considered themselves to be Woohyun’s friends.

“He doesn’t hate you,” Kate said. Sunggyu raised an eyebrow at her. Lip service was all it was.

“He _hated_ you though,” Sungyeol added. Well, that sounded more like the truth. “That’s for sure.”

“Right, past tense. Hated,” Kate pointed out. She then stared at Sunggyu, her eyes wider than ever, as if the bigger her eyes were the more honest she became. “But that’s all changed now. The moment you gave him a second chance at the meeting, he wants to give you another chance too.”

Sunggyu scoffed. Her lies were as big as her eyes now. “Did he say that?” he combatted.

“Well, not in those words,” she yielded. “But in his actions, yes.” Sunggyu rolled his eyes.

“Listen to her. She’s a good judge of character,” Sungyeol commanded in a stern voice. Kate started nodding in agreement, but unfortunately, she also happened to be drinking at the same time. She spilled her water all over herself. And Sungyeol had watched it all happen. He clicked his tongue at her. “She’s just not good judge of anything else,” he teased. Sungyeol grabbed a handful of napkins from the table. “You’re a mess. Come here,” he urged her as he wiped her chin. Kate took the napkins from him and began to dry herself. But then Sungyeol saw something else amiss. He picked a grain of rice from her eyebrow and flicked it away. “How did this even get here?”

“Don’t know,” she confessed with an embarrassed giggle.

Those two, Sunggyu was amazed that it took so long for them to confess their feelings for each other. Well, it didn’t take that long for Sungyeol to make his feelings know. Sunggyu knew it from the moment he had met the man (and Kate had known him for a full year before then). It took _this_ long for Kate to confess, but Sungyeol didn’t hold it against her. He seemed to understand that it would take some time for her to do so. He wasn’t exactly a patient person, but he was for her, because he liked her. If you like someone well enough, it’s easier to be patient with them. If you like someone well enough, it’s easier to forget the grievances and the grudges you might have against them. It’s easier to forgive.

He just hoped that Woohyun liked him enough to put all of this behind them.

* * *

Later that day, after classes, Sunggyu was trying to studying at the library. ‘Trying,’ but he wasn’t successful. He couldn’t focus. His thoughts were all over the place and they couldn’t settle. Buzzing, buzzing, his mind was in a haze. Sunggyu finally gave up and closed his books, and he opted to stare out the window instead. _Am I getting sick? I can’t concentrate. I can’t concentrate and now my eyes are playing tricks on me_ . There was someone blocking the window now, obstructing his view. This obstruction looked a lot like Nam Woohyun, but Nam Woohyun with a cart full of books and with pitch black hair. _Does he have a doppelganger too? Hyunwoo? Oh! Hyunwoo is looking at me._

“Kim Sunggyu,” the man greeted him his a sharp nod of his head before pushing the cart towards the stacks across from Sunggyu. Sunggyu watched him disappear into the shelves.

“Aish,” Sunggyu cursed below his breath and brought his hands in fists against the sides of his head. He must be going insane. That wasn’t a doppelganger. That was the actual Nam Woohyun. And now he had made a bad situation even worse. Sunggyu abruptly got up from his chair and headed over to the shelves. There was no way that things could get even worse than they were, but there was a slight chance that they could get better. He was going to take it.

Sunggyu caught up with him much quicker than he thought he would. He almost ran into him, but he pulled back the last second, acting as if he were reaching for a book. Woohyun glanced at the other and decided to ignore him for his own work. Sunggyu sighed and took the book off of the shelf. “You dyed your hair,” he casually noted as he pretended to read the book.

Woohyun still focused on putting the books away but answered, “You didn’t notice earlier?”

Sunggyu snapped the book shut. He didn’t know if it was because they were in a library, but he’d never heard Woohyun’s voice be so curt. “No,” Sunggyu admitted with a chuckle. _Don’t be like this. Say something nice_. “This looks nice. The blonde didn’t suit you.”

“Well, thanks,” now Woohyun’s voice was cold as ice and he pushed the cart further down the aisle.  

Sunggyu carelessly stuffed the book back onto the shelf and followed. “Ah, no. I just meant you’re more handsome like this,” he amended. And it was the truth. This hair suited him better, not only his features but (probably) his personality as well. Truth be told, Sunggyu _was_ old-fashioned. And although he lived in an age of wildly dyed hair, he still thought that those with such bleached hair looked like ruffians and punks. Sure, Woohyun had a playful nature to him. But he wasn’t a ruffian. He wasn’t a wolf. He was Nam Woohyun, and with this hair, he looked like a different person altogether.

“Oh,” Woohyun muttered. He paused and looked at the other again. A smile flickered but it went dark. “Thanks.” He then continued on.

 _They were wrong. Look at him._ “Woohyun, do you hate me?” Sunggyu asked the source.

“No.”

“Why not?” Sunggyu was genuinely curious.

Woohyun turned around and leaned against the cart, crossing his arms over his chest. “Should I?” he challenged.

“Yes,” Sunggyu answered a little too emphatically.

There, Woohyun finally lightened and laughed at the other. “I try to make it a point not to hate people if I can help it,” he explained. He then narrowed his eyes on the other, not meanly but cheekily. “You’re a hard one.”

“I’m sorry,” Sunggyu blurted out.

“For what?”

“For, ah, um, yea...aish!” Sunggyu cursed. Did he really have to go over how much he insulted the other? Why couldn’t Woohyun just be satisfied with an apology? They were just running around in circles, nipping at each other’s heels whenever they got close. It was time to put an end to it, like Sunggyu hoped to. “At the risk of sounding cliche, I think it would be easier for us if we just started over again.”

“Start this conversation over again? Okay, but can we skip the part when you insult my hair?” Woohyun’s smile faltered as he said that. He was seriously pleading.

“I said you looked handsome!” Sunggyu snapped. Dang, his temper got the best of him again. Sunggyu ran a hand down his face before continuing, “See, this is exactly why we need to start all over again, from the beginning. From the _very_ beginning.” _These little grudges are holding us back. We expect the worse from each other._

Woohyun nodded. “Okay. Then let’s make it _incredibly_ cliche,” he suggested. He pointed to the ground. “You stay here,” Woohyun commanded. He then put his hands on the cart and began to push it out of the aisle.

Sunggyu picked up a foot, about to take a step forward and follow the other, but then he remembered that he was supposed to stay put. He might’ve not been able to move his feet, but his mouth was a different matter. “Why? Where are you going? What are you doing? Why can’t I come?” he shot question after question at Woohyun who was turning the corner.

Woohyun peered around the shelf again. “You talk too much. We are in a _library_ ,” he reprimanded with a laugh. “Just stay put.”

“B-but…” Sunggyu stammered as the other vanished around the corner. Sunggyu tried to look around the corner the best he could from his spot. It was useless. “Where is he going?” he asked himself anxiously. Sunggyu now tried to look for Woohyun through the shelves. “What?” Woohyun just putting books back onto the shelves, like he was supposed to. But what was Sunggyu supposed to do? Wait until he finished? No, no, surely Woohyun would do something ‘incredibly cliche’ once he was across from Sunggyu. After all, he knew _exactly_ where Sunggyu was standing. What was Woohyun going to do? Pull out a book from the shelf, act surprised when he sees Sunggyu through the opening, and then ask if he could ‘check’ the elder out? Sunggyu chuckled at that thought. _Okay, maybe not to_ that _cliche._ But Sunggyu found himself anticipating it greatly, and even more so the closer and closer that Woohyun got. Now, now they were nearly across from each other. Sunggyu let out a chuckle prematurely and looked at the other through the small gaps between the books. He stepped closer to the shelves. Maybe he could give Woohyun a good scare while he was at it.

But then Woohyun passed him over. He didn’t even look his way. Sunggyu pulled back. _Huh?_ Now Woohyun was further down the aisle. Sunggyu walked up to where he was. Perhaps Woohyun had overestimated the distance. _Or not._ Woohyun kept pushing the cart down the aisle, slowly but steadily. And Sunggyu matched him step for step until they reached the end. Sunggyu was about to turn and confront the other, but he instead crashed into the cart.

“Aish!”

“Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t see you there! Are you okay?” Woohyun apologized profusely and stepped around the cart, closer to Sunggyu who was rubbing his side where he’d just been hit.

“Uh, yea,” Sunggyu lied, while he cringed.

“My name is Nam Woohyun. If there are any damages on your person then…”

“What are you doing? What is this?” Sunggyu cut the other off and lightly pushed him away, grinning all the while.

Woohyun chuckled. “Our meet cute,” he explained. “Why? Is it not cute enough?”

It was cute, but it could be cuter. “I wanna try it,” Sunggyu announced as he gripped onto the handles of the cart. He then nodded towards an aisle. “Go over there.”

But Woohyun jumped in front of the cart before Sunggyu could move it. He put his hand out. “You need a license to push this cart. Let me see it,” he commanded.

Sunggyu batted Woohyun’s hand away and then tried to pull Woohyun, who now gripping onto the other end, away from the cart. “Just let me try it,” Sunggyu begged with the widest smile he could muster.

Woohyun wouldn’t budge. “No, this one is mine. Come up with your own,” he insisted, pouting. Sunggyu finally lifted his hands off from the cart and backed away. It wasn’t about the cart; it was about them, how much effort Sunggyu was willing to put in to make things right again, how he’d like them to meet under normal circumstances.

“Okay. Fine,” Sunggyu spoke in a distracted voice as he walked back to the shelves. His mind was running through possible scenarios of how they could ‘meet.’ None of them seemed good (not like Woohyun’s would be much better). “I’m not good with this stuff,” he admitted as he shot another glance at Woohyun who was waiting in anticipation. _That’s not good_ . Woohyun was looking forward to see what he’d come up with. _Pressure_. No matter how many different scenarios that he came up with, they all began the same way. Sunggyu pulled a random book off of the shelf and handed it over to Woohyun. “Check out this book.”

Woohyun turned the book over and read the spine. His eyebrows arched, and he opened up the book to the title page. “This one?” he asked.

“Yea. Just do it,” Sunggyu whined. He wasn’t losing his patience (entirely) but his confidence. If Woohyun didn’t leave to check out the book now, Sunggyu’s determination to do something so cheesy would falter. “Just go.”

Woohyun smirked and nodded, eyes still fixed on the title page. “Okay,” he finally agreed and then left to check out the book.

Sunggyu stalked the other all the way up to the check-out desk. Woohyun was taking his precious time making his way to the desk. He even stopped to say ‘hello’ to a few people along the way. However... _It’s all a part of the act_ . Not Woohyun’s but theirs. Sunggyu fell into his role as well, casually looking at books, taking a different route than Woohyun, and even saying ‘hello’ himself to a few people that he knew. _Who is that person sitting with Dongwoo? Am I supposed to know him? He’s waving at me too!_ While Sunggyu was contemplating the identity of Dongwoo’s study partner, he noticed out of the corner of his eye. Woohyun was already at the check-out desk and handing the book over to the librarian. As he did so, he was looking about him, looking for Sunggyu. When their gazes met, Woohyun seemed somewhat relieved.

For a second, Sunggyu smiled, but then he remembered his role. Panic set in. “Ah! Hold on! I need that book! I _seriously_ need it for my research paper!” he exclaimed as he ran over to the desk. “Can I have it? Please?” he begged the other while pointing at the book. “My name is Kim Sunggyu. If you give me your number, I can tell you when I’m done with it.”

“Really? You need _this_ book?” Woohyun asked, astonished. Sunggyu nodded enthusiastically. Feeling his desperation, Woohyun shrugged and offered the book to Sunggyu. As Sunggyu was accepting the book with both hands, expressing his gratitude, Woohyun asked coyly, “What _exactly_ are you researching?”

“Huh?” Sunggyu muttered as he finally read the title of the book, _Fifty Ways to Feel Your_ Pudor. “Aish,” Sunggyu swore as he cringed, hitting his own head gently with the book before setting it down on the desk and stepping back far, far away from it. “Just forget it,” he commanded, pointing to the dreaded thing. “Do you want to get dinner?” he tried to change the subject.

And thankfully, it worked. “Will you be buying?” Woohyun asked in return.

Sunggyu gave a short nod. “I feel like I owe it to you.”

“You do,” Woohyun readily agreed. He then placed a hand on Sunggyu’s shoulder. “Let’s go.” They only walked two steps together before they fell out, and the hand dropped from his shoulder. Sunggyu spun around and looked at Woohyun who had just stopped for no reason. “Ah, I’ll put the book back first,” he explained as he picked it up. He then began backpedaling and spoke to the other, “I’ll meet you outside, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Okay,” Woohyun repeated with a smile before turning around and scurrying off to put the book away.

Sunggyu sputtered into a chuckle as he walked out of the entrance, replaying what had all just happened over and over again in his head. As far as beginnings go, those weren’t so bad. They were surely better than the one they’d actually had, on the bus with the both of them just staring and judging each other. Yes, these beginnings were much, much better, even if one of them left Sunggyu with a bruised side.

* * *

 

When Woohyun finally came back, Sunggyu was reclining on the bench outside. Woohyun behaved much like he did at the check-out desk. He looked around the area, searching, and seemed relieved once his eyes fell upon the man on the bench. However, this time, Woohyun spoke first: “You’re still here?”

Sunggyu got up from the bench and walked towards the other, tilting his head and stuffing his hands into his pockets. “You sound surprised,” he noted.

“Because I am,” Woohyun admitted with no qualms. “I thought you’d try to get out of buying me dinner.”

There was no other comeback that Sunggyu could think of other than: “Well, I didn’t.”

Woohyun grinned. “No, you didn’t,” he repeated. He then pat the other on the back, hand gradually moving up to his shoulders as the both of them moved forward. “Let’s go. So where are you taking me?”

“Just somewhere,” Sunggyu vaguely answered, half because he wanted to keep Woohyun in suspense, half because where they were going wasn’t too exciting. They were going to the best place that he could afford, which wasn’t saying much. Sunggyu’s financial situation wasn’t much better than Woohyun’s, but with the additional strain of the Myung siblings who’d beg for food and snacks (and Sunggyu with his weak heart gave in more than he should, encouraging them to do it more often). And so the place place that he could afford was a guksu shop close to the bus stop. However, it was somehow impressive to the Woohyun.

“When you said that you’d be buying, I half thought you’d buy me 4 pieces of triangle kimbap and call it a night. This is nice,” Woohyun commented after they sat down.

Sunggyu laughed at the other. “It’s not like I’m taking out for meat,” he remarked. Now that would be nice, but all too nice for them.

Woohyun leaned in. “How can I get you to do that?” his voice was low as he asked the other to divulge his secret.

“You don’t,” Sunggyu quickly retorted. Woohyun pulled back, pretending to be dejected but he expected so much. Sunggyu studied the other closely. Woohyun seemed a bit on edge, as if he was waiting for Sunggyu to do something, something not good. Sunggyu then recalled how Woohyun kept appearing relieved when Sunggyu was where he said he’d be. “You must think little of me,” Sunggyu spoke his thoughts out loud. He hadn’t noticed it until Woohyun’s stared at him blankly. Sunggyu explained himself, “First you thought I was going to get out of treating you. Then you thought I’d be jipping you. Exactly what kind of person do you think I am?”

“I don’t know,” Woohyun replied, turning his attention to the menu. “It changes everyday.” And in a voice barely above a whisper (probably hoping that Sunggyu wouldn’t catch it), Woohyun added, “Sometimes every minute.”

 _So you are the same_ , Sunggyu thought as the waitress set dishes in front of them. Earlier Sunggyu had told Woohyun that at times he hated, but at others he liked him, that he felt like he could tell Woohyun everything and nothing at all. What he hadn’t said, what he should’ve added was that the times he was liking Woohyun were beginning to outweigh the times he didn’t. And more and more, Sunggyu wanted to tell him things, anything, just to have a casual conversation. Slowly but surely, he was starting to think he could trust Nam Woohyun. These things don’t happen all at once, not for Sunggyu. Woohyun would have to be patient with him. And Sunggyu would be patient for Woohyun in turn. Of course, Sunggyu couldn’t say all of these things to Woohyun. It was embarrassing. But he had hoped Woohyun was able to parse out the meaning behind his words.

And maybe Woohyun just did.

Or maybe Woohyun just wanted all of the side dishes. “Can I have these?” he pleaded and he pulled the small dishes closer to him (well, not all of them. Sunggyu assumed Woohyun left the ones he didn’t like for him).

Sunggyu was hungry, but... _He skipped lunch today_. “Sure,” Sunggyu acted as if he didn’t care.

While he was stuffing his mouth with as much food as his cheeks would allow, Woohyun asked, “So how far are we going to take this? Starting all over?” He clarified with the second question when Sunggyu gazed at him dumbfounded.

Sunggyu chuckled nervously. How far indeed. “Maybe not starting _completely_ over again. Like you don’t need to tell me about your family,” Sunggyu drew the line. It would be silly for them to act like complete strangers now, especially after some intimate confessions.

“What about your family?” Woohyun’s question took him by surprise. “I don’t know anything about them, outside of the fact that you have a mom that hated hip-hop pants and a sister that you got into trouble.”

“I have a dad too,” Sunggyu added.

“What does he do?”

That simple question, which could’ve been answered with a single word, instead launched Sunggyu into a long monologue about his entire family, where he was from, and about Kate who was like family. After telling a rather mundane story about his neighborhood, Sunggyu wondered why he’d been talking for so long (how Woohyun wasn’t bored yet). But although Sunggyu felt like he was the only one talking, it wasn’t a monologue. It was a dialogue. Woohyun would interject with some childhood stories of his own (including a sad tale about a poor puppy named Kongddeok). It was the type of conversation that Sunggyu had wanted. It was the perfect conversation for meeting each other all over again.

After the meal, when they stepped outside, Woohyun stated, “This was really nice.” And this time it was appropriate.

“Yea it was,” Sunggyu agreed and pursed his lips for a second to stop him from smiling.

“We should do it again,” Woohyun suggested.

Sunggyu scoffed. “I’m not buying _every_ time,” he retorted and then stopped. The shop was only a few steps away from his bus stop, meaning that time was time for them to part, time to say goodbye. And it was far easier than the last time they had to.

“Okay, next time, I’ll treat you,” Woohyun offered for backpedaling down the street, away from the other.

Sunggyu grinned broadly until he realized something. “Wait, you’re just going to take me to your parents’ place, aren’t you?” he shouted towards the other.

“Their food is the best!” Woohyun yelled back. He then waved to the other with both of his hands. “Bye Sunggyu!”

Sunggyu waved back. “Bye Woohyun!” With that Woohyun turned around and continued down the street. Finally, a goodbye with moderate and appropriate waving. It was also nice.

* * *

 

What wasn’t nice, what was terrifying, was to return back to his street with police cars blocking the entrance with their lights flashing and with a crowd buzzing around them. Sunggyu ran up to the scene, fast as he could. His eyes darted all over the scene, searching. What happened? He could only catch snippets of the conversation murmuring about him, like a low hum which was almost drowned out by the hammering of his heart. “An attack.” “A young lady.” “She lived with that boy.” “Yes, _that_ boy.” “Was he attacked too?” “I think so.”

“MYUNGSOO-YAH!” Sunggyu yelled on the top of his lungs as he pushed his way to the front of the crowd. “MYUNGEUN-AH!”

A hand fell on his shoulder. Sunggyu jumped. “HYUNG!” pierced his ear. Sunggyu spun around grateful to see his neighbor unharmed. He wanted to hug the other tightly, making sure that he was indeed there, but what Myungsoo said next stopped him: “Myungeun, I can’t find her anywhere!” Myungsoo was terrified, eyes wide and unblinking.

“What?”

“I can’t find my sister!” Myungsoo screeched. “You _have_ to help me find her.”

Sunggyu didn’t answer. He ran. He ran out of the crowd and down the street, calling for Myungeun with every good breath that he had. Myungsoo did the same and was at Sunggyu’s heels. They checked every alleyway in the neighborhood, every street and dingy corners. And they still couldn’t find her. They returned back to the entrance of their street, still blocked off by police cars but the crowd had thinned. And among them was a teenage girl.

“MYUNGEUN!” Myungsoo shouted and he embraced her tightly as soon as she turned around. His hand cupping the back of her head as he brought her even closer. “Myungeun,” his voice was shaking. “Where _were_ you?”

“Mmmphmmm.” She couldn’t respond because her face was smashed into her brother’s shoulder.

“What?”

Myungeun pulled herself away as her brother’s grip lessened. “Dance practice,” she answered. “It ran late.”

“You should’ve called,” Myungsoo reprimanded her.

Myungeun looked guilty. “I couldn’t. My battery died,” she confessed sheepishly.

“Then don’t let it die!” Myungsoo raised his voice.

It was the most stern that Myungsoo had ever been with her. And it frightened Myungeun. She started crying. Myungsoo sighed, biting back his anger, as he wiped her tears. “I was afraid that something happened to you,” he explained. “All I heard was that a young woman was attacked.”

Myungeun sniveled a few times as she struggled to answer, “It...wasn’t...me...It was...dark ahjussi…’s wife.”

Myungsoo faced Sunggyu. “She means Karem and his wife,” he explained.

“Really? Miran-ssi?” Sunggyu mumbled as he looked up. Without rows of people to block his view, Sunggyu could see down the street clearly. The dark and tall man was sitting on the steps of Sunggyu’s building with a blanket hanging from his broad shoulders. His hand was being attended to by an emergency responder, and he was talking with the policeman next to him. Karem’s eyes kept darting back to the ambulance only a few meters away from him, where his wife was probably being attended too. Once his hand was wrapped, Karem was ushered into the ambulance himself, to be with Miran, and the policemen near Sunggyu told the crowd to back away so that the truck could leave. Sunggyu said a prayer as the truck went by.

Sunggyu had hardly known the man. He’d known that Karem’s family had lived on this street for a few years, and he found out from Kate, that the man was from the same part of America as she was. Karem had struck up a conversation with her after seeing her wear a basketball jersey of their state’s team. He was nice like that, friendly too. Miran as well. She was a bit quieter than her husband, more shy, but she had always waved when she passed by and smiled. Sunggyu hardly knew them, but he knew well enough that they did not deserve this. This was a heartless and hateful attack.

What Sunggyu didn’t know was this wasn’t the last attack this neighborhood would see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally could not think of any other name than Karem Abdul Jabbar (basketball player and actor).
> 
> Also "Fifty Ways to Feel Your Pudor" is a chapter from a book I've been reading for research (Emotion, Restraint, and Community in ancient Rome by Robert Kaster). I've always thought it was a funny title. "Pudor" in Latin means "shame" or "embarrassment." So I guess you can say that Sunggyu was feeling pudor at that moment. Hehehe


	7. Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is like "Cheese in the Trap" but without the cheese, or the traps, or Hong Seol, or Yoo Jung...or the gratuitous piano scenes...

Sunggyu had a feeling that it would happen again; he dreaded it would. Terrible things like this were never single incidents. He heard them echo in his mind before he heard them outside. A siren, no several of them. They went off in the middle of the night when he was making himself a cup of coffee to drink while he finished his essay. He heard the sirens and then turned towards the window to see the red and blue lights flashing in his window. Sunggyu froze in his place, staring at the flickering lights and holding his breath and cup tightly. But then once he heard the Myung siblings argue from the other side of the wall, Sunggyu let go of his breath. It was okay. It wasn’t them. They were safe.

Who was it this time though? That thought kept Sunggyu distracted throughout the rest of the night, making him finish his essay later than planned and to have a fitful night of sleep. Even if it wasn’t Myungsoo or Myungeun, Sunggyu was friendly with several people on his block. It was is his neighborhood. He cared for it. 

Early the next morning, Sunggyu watched the news while chewing at the pad of his thumb nervously, waiting for a familiar face to flash across the screen. And then it did. Sunggyu dropped his hand from his mouth and lowered his head, letting out a deep breath. It wasn’t just one face, one person, it was two. The images were blurred and their names were just initials in order to protect their identity, but to the people who knew them, it was obvious. Sunggyu took in a shaky breath as he lifted his eyes back to the television, with his hand over his heart. He knew these two men, not very well, but enough to admire them. The were an older couple, living together in small house just a few steps away from Sunggyu’s building. This neighborhood used to be friendly to people like them, like Sunggyu, but now…

Sunggyu turned off the television. He was going to be late for school if he watched any more of the news. So he roughly rubbed his eyes and left.

* * *

Kate was already there at the bus stop, waiting for him. Her eyes were fixed on his street, and she was tapping her feet impatiently. Once Sunggyu came into her sights, she jogged up to him, looking relieved. “Good morning,” she said too cheerful for this hour.

“I’m fine,” Sunggyu grumbled back, still facing forward towards the stop.

“Hm?” Kate hummed. “I didn’t say anything.”

“It’s all over your face,” Sunggyu snapped and faced his friend. And even though there was a faint (forced) smile on her face, Kate’s brows still bowed with worry. Her face was always too honest. Sunggyu sighed and turned his gaze back towards the street. “You watched the news.”

“I didn’t,” Kate argued but then let out a short, embarrassed laugh. “Sungyeollie did,” she admitted in a small voice. “He texted me about it.”

“I’m alive. Tell him that,” he told her as he picked up his pace, not to leave his friend behind but to lean against the wall of the shelter at the stop. He closed his eyes, which were tired and aching from lack of sleep.

“I’ll tell him,” Kate promised, her voice sounding closer and closer as she spoke. And then there was a click. Sunggyu cracked an eye open and saw Kate lowering her phone down, chuckling nervously again. She’d been caught taking a picture of him. “Evidence that you weren’t hurt,” she excused herself.

“Delete that,” he grumbled.

“Nope,” Kate chirped back. Right then the bus came and she scurried on before Sunggyu could argue back with her.

But he was still close on her heels and slipped into the seat next to her. “Why? He’s going to see me soon,” Sunggyu pointed out.

Kate tucked her phone into her pocket. “He’s worried,” she explained. “He went to a fortune teller. She said that he’d receive good luck at the cost of his friend who’d be plagued with misfortune.”

“Yeol is having good luck?” Sunggyu asked.

“Well…” Kate’s voice dropped, without finishing her sentence, but it was obvious what she meant. Blush dusted her cheeks, her gaze dropped to her lap, and she bit her lip, holding back her smile.

“What?” Sunggyu scoffed. “Don’t tell me. You think that Yeol’s good luck is  _ you _ !”

“For now,” Kate argued with a huff. “It’s me for now until something better happens to him.” She shot a glare at the other. “I’m a catch. He  _ is _ lucky to have me.”

“Yea sure,” Sunggyu gave in. He didn’t have enough strength to argue with Kate this morning. He barely had enough strength to sit up straight, so he leaned against the window, closing his eyes. And Kate only spoke to him when they reached the school and had to get off. Maybe Sungyeol was a bit lucky to have her.

* * *

“You guys! I just won the lottery!” Sungyeol exclaimed when they met at the cafe. So his stroke of luck wasn’t Kate at all.

And she realized it. Kate patted Sunggyu on the back and remarked, “It was nice knowing you.”

The both of them were worried about Sunggyu, treating him as if he was on the brink of death. Sunggyu probably chew them out about it later, but for now, he was enjoying their attention and the coffee Sungyeol had bought him with his winnings. Sunggyu wasn’t as worried as they were. Sungyeol had only won 500,000 won and not billions, and he had more friends than just Sunggyu. 

_ And there’s one now, _ Sunggyu thought as he saw Woohyun walk up the stairs. Woohyun waved at Sunggyu who was waiting outside of the business building, enjoying the sun. He nodded back. Woohyun grinned and tried to ascend the stairs more quickly, tried being the optimal word. Woohyun missed his footing and fell flat on his face. Sunggyu snorted (but his heart felt somewhat relieved).  _ Yea, it’s probably him. He’s the one taking all of Sungyeol’s bad luck.  _

Sunggyu walked over, meeting the younger at the top of the stairs. “You okay?” he laughed as he asked.

“Yea. Why?” Woohyun responded as coolly as he could.

Sunggyu scoffed. “I just saw you fall on your face.”

“No, I didn’t,” Woohyun retorted. “I was dancing. It was on purpose.”

Sunggyu laughed. “If that was dancing than I’m Lee Sooshin,” he argued.

Woohyun narrowed his gaze as he studied the other. “You look different from the pictures in history books,” he joked, laughing himself soon after he said it.

“Let’s just go inside,” Sunggyu responded. They could spend a long while bantering like this and be late for class, or Sunggyu could cut the useless (but fun) conversation here.

“Okay,” Woohyun gave in and walked with the other inside of the building. When inside, he nudged the elder. “Hey, were you waiting for me?”

“No, I was just enjoying the sun,” Sunggyu answered.

“Hm? But it’s raining.”

“Is it? I must be more tired than I thought.”

* * *

And Sunggyu was really more tired than he expected to be. He hadn’t paid attention to half of the class, practically sleeping with his eyes open. He only knew that the class had ended because Woohyun told him. Sunggyu mumbled ‘thanks’ to him and got up from his seat, stumbling down the stairs, wondering if he’d ever feel ‘awake’ today. But as soon as he stepped outside, he felt wide awake.

It wasn’t raining anymore, but it was still overcast. However, that didn’t dim the shine of two youths, happily singing at the bottom of the steps of the business school.  _ What is with Myungsoo and playing on stairs? _ Sunggyu thought as he made his way toward the Myung siblings. 

“What are you two doing?” Sunggyu asked when he was closer.

Myungeun turned around. “We’re collecting money Karem and Miran’s hospital bills,” she answered.

Myungsoo added, but was still facing forward, “Getting attacked is bad enough, and now they have to pay for it.”

“That’s...really nice,” Sunggyu responded, sounding more surprised than he meant to, but he honestly was. He’d never seen Myungsoo so motivated, or playing his guitar anywhere else besides their stoop. Myungsoo finally turned back to look at the elder and flashed him a smile.

“Do you want to help us out, hyung?” Myungsoo suggested.

“I’ll help,” a voice chirped from behind Sunggyu. It was Woohyun. Sunggyu had forgotten that he was there. Woohyun plopped down onto the steps, right next to Myungeun. “It’ll be like old times when the three of us used to sing together. Do you remember, Myungeunnie?”

The girl shook her head and pouted. “You only sang with oppa, and not with me,” she corrected him.

Woohyun looked taken aback. “Really?” he challenged.

“Yes, you said I was too young to know the songs,” she reminded him and began sulking, placing her face in her hands as she glared at him.

Myungsoo chuckled and patted his sister’s head. “You  _ were _ too young,” he took Woohyun’s side. “All you knew then were nursery rhymes.”

Myungeun then turned her nasty glare over to her brother. “You still could’ve played with me,” she grumbled. She shook her head. “Ah, forget it. Let’s just sing now.”

“Okay, you can pick the song,” Woohyun offered. “Myungsoo and I will be your backup.”

That cheered up the girl. Myungeun had a smile back on her face and she was telling her brother what to play.

And all the while, the three of them were ignoring Sunggyu. _ I can sing too _ , he kept to himself as he continued down the stairs. Instead of joining them, he counted through the money in Myungsoo’s open guitar case, curious to see how much money they raised for the couple. However, it took him a few attempts to count the money accurately. He kept getting distracted and was looking up at the trio. Sunggyu had forgotten again that the three of them had a shared childhood. And this was probably the first time he’d seen Woohyun and Myungsoo interact with each other. Those two were having fun. Woohyun was changing the lyrics to the song to get a laugh from the siblings, but Myungsoo would only smile and never slip his fingers from the strings. It appeared like Sunggyu’s neighbor was used to Woohyun’s antics.  _ So they  _ do _ get along _ …

“How much is there?”

“Huh?”

Myungsoo repeated his question. “How much money did we raise so far?”

“Quite a bit,” Sunggyu answered, as he stood back up from his crouch. “Enough to cover a good part of the bill.” He then gave a short chuckle. “You know, not all of this is money. Almost half of these are phone numbers from girls,” he remarked as he pulled out a note from the case and handed it over to Myungsoo, showing him. Myungsoo was apparently too engrossed in his playing to realize and his face was reddening as he read the phone number, with a hand covering his embarrassed smile.

“I’ll just take one,” Woohyun said as he came over and plucked another note out of the case.

“No!” Sunggyu yelped as he tore the note from the younger’s hand and tossed it back down into the guitar case. “What are  _ you _ going to do with it?” Woohyun wouldn’t be interested in a girl’s phone number, right?  _ I thought he said he was. _ ..

“I was kidding,” Woohyun assured him, lightly tapping the other on the shoulder. “I don’t need it,” his voice was small.

“It wasn’t funny. You’re not that funny,” Sunggyu retorted.

“I’m funny,” Woohyun fought back. “Myungsoo thinks I’m funny, right?” he directed his question to his old friend.

“Eung,” Myungsoo hummed cheerfully, with a nod.

Sunggyu scoffed. “Myungsoo thinks anything is funny.”

“No, I don’t. I don’t think hyung’s funny,” Myungsoo responded, eyes fixed on his guitar strings again.

“Whatever,” Sunggyu dismissed his comment and faced Woohyun, pointing at Myungsoo. “He’s just joking. I’m funny.”

“Funny looking, maybe,” Woohyun joked.

“What?” Sunggyu snapped and grabbed at Woohyun’s upper arm, and with his other hand he raised a fist, in mock threat. He wouldn’t hit Woohyun, but the younger was surely asking for it. Luckily, someone came to stop him from following through with the threat.

“Sorry to interrupt,” a woman spoke. She was dressed in a suit, with a red lined smile plastered onto her face. A cameraman was accompanying her. Sunggyu immediately stepped out of the way, keeping his hand on Woohyun’s arm and pulling the other to the side with him. Woohyun shot him a curious glance, and so Sunggyu dropped his hand from him. But to him, it was obvious that the reporter didn’t want them. She was there for the singing siblings. She stepped closer towards them and asked, “We got a tip that you’re raising money for the victims of the recent attacks going on. Do you mind if we interview you?”

“Not at all,” Myungsoo responded without pausing to think. There was no reason for it. After all, he’d been waiting for an opportunity like this.

“We’ll be going,” Sunggyu announced to the siblings, giving them space for the interview. He then pulled on the sleeve of Woohyun’s shirt. “Let’s go.”

“Can’t we be interviewed too?” Woohyun debated, looking over to the reporter with a broad, wolfish smile.

_ What is he up to?  _ Sunggyu tugged on the sleeve again, harder this time. “We’re already late for lunch. Kate and Sungyeol are waiting for us,” he reminded the other. He then pouted. “I’m hungry.”

Woohyun turned his grin from the reporter towards Sunggyu. “We can’t have that,” he said. “You get cranky. Let’s go!” Woohyun then waved towards the siblings and began walking towards the cafeteria.

“I do not!” Sunggyu exclaimed as he followed the other.

“Don’t get cranky now! We’re going to eat,” Woohyun teased him, wrapping his arm around Sunggyu’s shoulder as they walked.   
Sunggyu frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not. I’m not,” he spoke in a small voice, and the two of them let the argument drop there, but they still stayed walking like that even when they entered the cafeteria. Kate and Sungyeol were already eating. After coming in, Sungyeol was the first to catch sight of them. He then nudged his girlfriend and whispered to her, pointing at them. Before Sunggyu could shrug Woohyun’s arms from off of his shoulders, the both of them had seen it and were gazing at him with amazement and mouths agape. _ I’ll never hear the end of this _ , Sunggyu thought as he approached the table, Woohyun at his back.

“You guys came? Together?” Kate didn’t even bother to hide the astonishment in her voice. Just the other day, Sunggyu had been adamant that Woohyun hated him and now they were acting chummy. Her eyes kept darting back and forth between the two boys, probably trying to pinpoint the exact reason behind this drastic change. 

“Eung,” Woohyun hummed casually, acting as if it were an everyday occurrence. “I’m going to get some food. I’ll be back,” he announced before he left.

When he was out of earshot, the couple leaned over the table towards Sunggyu. “Are you guys friends now?” Sungyeol whispered.

“Please, pretty please, tell me that you’re friends,” Kate added desperately.

Sunggyu shrugged. “I guess so,” he murmured, but he still wasn’t quite sure himself. It was a pretty big change for him too, but a welcomed one. 

“That’s a relief,” Sungyeol let out as he leaned back, slinking down into his chair. He looked over at Kate. “Our parents are finally getting along.”

“Right?” she responded, returning her main focus back to her food. “We don’t have to split time between them anymore,” she remarked with a mouth full of food. “We can be a happy family.”

“I’ve been wondering,” Sunggyu began and the couple turned their attention back up to him. “In this hypothetical situation, are you two siblings?”

Kate dropped her spoon and gasped. “Omg, are we?”

“No, no, no,” Sungyeol quickly denied. “We aren’t related. They’re just our parents.”

“How does that work?” Kate challenged, tilting her head.

“Ah, I don’t know,” Sungyeol admitted.

But while the couple was debating over this trivial thing, Sunggyu was able to escape and join Woohyun in line for the food. And the younger greeted him with a grin that was a lot less like a wolf and a lot more like a puppy, excited but hesitant rather than cunning. Sunggyu tried to return the smile with one of his own, but he could feel the corners of his lips faltering, failing to stay up.

_ Are we only acting close? For our friends’ sake? _ Sunggyu thought, sighing as he grabbed a tray.  _ Will we ever really be close?  _ Sunggyu’s eyes flickered over to the man next to him, and he was met by the other’s dark, round eyes, looking right back at him but only for a split second before they dropped down to the bowl on his tray. It was far too quick for Sunggyu to be able to read it, if Sunggyu could read him at all that is. With everything that happened between them recently, Sunggyu had developed a habit of questioning everything he could gather about Woohyun, careful not to make snap judgments again. He had to rebuild his image of the other from the ground up, and it was proving to be a difficult task, especially when he was hesitant to put the pieces together.

_ Do I want to be close to him? Do I even want to know him? _

It was especially difficult because Sunggyu still couldn’t answer those basic questions.

* * *

When the day ended, and lunch passed by happily, Sunggyu was starting to think that he  _ might _ want to be genuine friends with Woohyun, and he could see why Kate and Sungyeol were desperate for them to be friends. The four of them played well together, and more evenly too. He felt like the couple were not ganging up on him anymore; he had someone in his corner now. He had Woohyun (which was strange to think).

But then when he came home to find his apartment infiltrated by the Myung siblings, who were eager to watch their interview with the local news station, Sunggyu began to question his blossoming  _ friendship _ with his former enemy. And it all began when the reporter called the siblings a “young couple,” which made Sunggyu burst out into a roaring laugh, especially after seeing Myungsoo’s and Myungeun’s horrified faces.

“Ew!” Myungeun retched, hiding her reddening face in her hands. Her television ‘debut’ wasn’t going like how she’d envisioned it at all. 

“How?” Myungsoo could only ask. “How could they assume that?” He scooted a bit away from his sister, who had now collapsed on the floor, her face pressed to the ground as her legs kicked the air in frustration, pitiful whimpers escaping her lips.

“Probably because you’re too much of a fool for Myungeun,” Sunggyu remarked in a low voice. “For the whole segment, you barely took your eyes off of her, and your gaze is intense. Like lasers. It’s no wonder why the reporter thought you two were dating.” When he finished, he clicked his tongue and shook his head. “It’s no surprise at all.”

“No, I still don’t get it,” Myungsoo combatted, furrowing his brow as he was in deep thought. “You and Woohyun-hyung seemed more like a couple than we did.”

“What?” Sunggyu choked.

“You guys seemed awfully close, especially when you stepped in between Woohyun and the reporter like you were protecting him,” Myungsoo explained. His brow smoothed out and he was now grinning cheekily at the other. He nudged the elder. “Is there something going on between you two that I don’t know, hyung?”

“No, no, no, it’s not like that,” Sunggyu emphatically denied, waving both hands in the air, as if he was trying to physically wipe the image out of Myungsoo’s mind.

“Don’t be silly, oppa!” Myungeun exclaimed with a roll of her eyes as she crawled back up to her knees and sat on them. “They are both guys. They can’t be a couple. That’d be weird.”

Sunggyu froze. And the more Myungeun spoke, the hotter he grew, as if he’d been caught doing something wrong. And he couldn’t say anything. His lips were hiding inside his mouth and his head was hanging. _ That’d be weird...it’d be weird. We can’t be a couple _ . 

His heart was hammering in his chest, but a hand glued to his back, rubbing it softly. “Myungeun-ah, why don’t you go wash up?” Myungsoo suggested to his little sister.

“Don’t wanna,” she whined.

Myungsoo dropped his hand from Sunggyu’s back and faced his sister. “But you have to go to the company tomorrow with all of those handsome and pretty idols,” he reminded her. “Do you want to smell? Have eye bags down to here?” he asked, pulling down his own eyes.

That won her over. Myungeun scampered onto her feet, muttering. “I’ll go. I’ll go.” Before leaving the apartment, she looked over at Sunggyu and waved. “Good night, oppa!” Then she was gone and Sunggyu could soon hear her stumbling hurriedly on the other side of the wall.

And when Myungsoo heard his sister inside of their apartment, he let out a breath and moved closer to Sunggyu. “Don’t let what Myungeun said get to you,” he spoke lowly, calmly, but his voice became more tense as he continued, struggling to apologize for his little sister, “She’s still young...naive. She’s only ever thought about music and singing and not much about anything else. There was this one boy that she really liked once, that she was crazy about, but…”

“It’s okay,” Sunggyu broke him off. And for the most part, he truly was fine. “She doesn’t know.” He was fine because Myungeun didn’t know; he didn’t expect her to know. But a small part of him still felt hurt and ashamed. It was part of his pride that was injured.  _ It wouldn’t be weird. It wouldn’t _ .

“Okay, I just wanted you to know that it’s not...weird,” Myungsoo slowly came to that conclusion, but it came from the heart regardless.

_ Right _ , Sunggyu thought, still lowering his head but to hide his growing smile. Instead of trying to hide it any longer, he just laughed. “Myungsoo, you should be more worried that the entire country thinks that you’re dating your sister,” he teased the other.

“True,” Myungsoo admitted and groaned, running his fingers through his hair, frustrated. “Aish, it’ll be weird at the company tomorrow.”

“Hm?” Sunggyu thought he misheard him.

“Oh, I didn’t tell you,” Myungsoo seemed surprised that he’d forgotten. “I’ve been scouted.” He then proceeded to tell his hyung about how he’d recently been walking Myungeun home from practice because of the attacks. And then one day, he was stopped by a staff member who asked if he’d ever consider being a model. Myungsoo responded that he’d rather be a singer, and surprisingly the staff responded with ‘okay.’ A few days later, a contract was drawn up and Myungsoo signed. Tomorrow was going to be his first day at the company, which now was ruined because of the news report. Myungsoo would have to spend his first day explaining the situation to the CEO, how Myungeun was in fact his sister.

After Sunggyu encouraged him and wished him ‘fighting,’ Myungsoo did the same and then left to go to bed. He wanted to look his best for tomorrow too. Myungeun’s words were already a distant memory in her brother’s mind, but Sunggyu’s thoughts kept circling around them like a drain, dragging him further and further down into a strange spiral of musings. What was this feeling?

* * *

Dread, that was what he was feeling the following morning. This time, the sirens blared and police lights flashed when the morning sun was peeking through the clouds. They were later than usual, too late. The sirens mixed in the air with Sunggyu’s alarm, but he still couldn’t stir from his bed. He was scared stiff. At the same time, however, he  _ had _ to know who it was this time. Eventually, his feet brought him outside of his apartment and down the stairs until he was outside. Myungsoo was already there. “Someone found him in the alley this morning,” he informed the elder, with his eyes fixed on the said dark passage, lit up by red and blue lights. The police were lurking in the shadows and paramedics too.

“Who?” Sunggyu’s voice cracked when he asked.

Myungsoo’s eyes flickered over to him before he answered, “Jang Jinyoung-ssi.”

Sunggyu closed his eyes and bit his lips. “Another,” he muttered more to himself than to the other.

“Yea,” Myungsoo responded. “Hyung, be careful,” he said, placing a hand on the other’s shoulder. “I’m going to get Myungeun and walk her to school,” he announced and then went back inside. Sunggyu nodded as the other left, but still remained outside, eyes not moving from the alleyway. 

Jang Jinyoung, he was the man who lived on the first floor of Sunggyu’s building. But unlike the other victims, Jinyoung was single, to an extent. He was flirty but in a friendly way. He called everyone ‘sweetheart’ and he wasn’t shy to make his feelings known. He had an odd charisma about him, even though he walked around with his hair pushed back with a headband and cow slippers on his feet. Sunggyu had liked him (as a neighbor), but he didn’t always approve of Jinyoung’s behavior. Lately, Sunggyu had seen a man in a sharp suit leaving Jinyoung’s apartment late at night, when he was returning home from school. And every time the man stepped outside, he would nervously twist the golden, wedding band around his finger, and subsequently hide his hand when he noticed that Sunggyu was watching him. Jinyoung was carrying on an affair. It was risky, but no one could’ve guessed that this would be the price he’d have to pay for it. This was the worst attack yet. Jinyoung had been taken to the ICU, beaten to the brink of death. An officer had told him that as a warning. 

“Be careful, okay?” the officer told him, repeating Myungsoo’s warning. “If you feel like someone is following you or anyone you know, call us immediately. Don’t take this lightly.”

“Okay, officer. I understand,” Sunggyu mumbled back before going back inside. The attacker was slowly escalating his behavior, growing more bold with each ‘successful’ attack. But Sunggyu led a quiet life and he was still single. He wasn’t like Jinyoung.  _ I’ll be fine, right? There’s no way that this guy would know about me _ . But then he stopped at his door. _ But Kate and Sungyeol...aren’t they like Karem and Miran? _

And as if they could read his thoughts, Sunggyu’s phone rang. Irritated and cranky, he pulled it out of his pocket and answered with a slight growl, “I’m alive!”

“That’s good to know. I’m alive too,” the voice on the other end replied with a chuckle. It wasn’t Kate or Sungyeol but...

“Woohyun?” Sunggyu muttered in disbelief.

“Yea,” Woohyun answered. “Um, I got your number from Kate. I, uh, had a question about yesterday’s lecture. Do you think you could talk me through it before class?” he asked hesitantly.

“Uh, sure,” Sunggyu mumbled as he fumbled with his keys and opened his door.

“Great!” Woohyun exclaimed. “I’ll be working at the library, so just come there.”

“Oh, okay,” Sunggyu agreed, stepping into his apartment. “I’ll be there.”

“Thanks for doing this! I’ll talk to you then. Bye,” Woohyun cheerfully spoke on the other end.

“O-oh,” Sunggyu stuttered, still at a loss as to why the other is calling him. “Later. I’ll see you later. Bye bye.” After hanging up, Sunggyu tossed the phone onto the counter and then covered his face with his hands, groaning. “Bye bye?” he grumbled to himself. “Who says that?”

Then his phone rang again. This time Sunggyu was sure to read his caller ID before shouting, “I’M ALIVE!”

“THANK YOU!” Sungyeol bellowed out from the other side of the line. “YOU KNOW MAYBE YOU SHOULD CALL NEXT TIME SO I DON’T HAVE A HEART ATTACK EVERY MORNING!”

“MAYBE I WILL!” Sunggyu snapped back.

“THANK YOU! BYE!”

“BYE!”

After ending that call, Sunggyu had to quickly gather his things and rush out. He was close to missing the bus. He just barely was able to step onto it before he pulled away from the curb. Luckily, Kate was there, saving a seat for him. “Here,” she said as she offered him a vitamin drink. “You haven’t been getting much sleep these days.”

“Could you?” Sunggyu snapped out of crankiness, but soon regretted. “Thanks,” he muttered, accepting the drink.

“Why don’t you just move out?” Kate suggested. “Just for a bit. I don’t live far from you. You can stay with me.”

Sunggyu turned his head to look at her, and she was staring back at him with wide-eyes, trying to convince him, but her eyebrows bowed with worry. Sunggyu turned his attention to the drink in his hand. He opened it and promised before taking a swig,“If it gets worse, I will.”

“Is it not bad enough now?” Kate challenged and Sunggyu could still feel her gaze burning through him. Her voice had an edge to it as she spoke, “Don’t wait until it’s too late.”

“I won’t,  _ Mom _ ,” Sunggyu replied, trying to make light of the matter. He didn’t want her to worry. He’d be fine, he believed. So he scoffed and joked, “Pbft. And some people think I act like your dad.”

“Who?” Kate asked.

“Woohyunnie.”

“Woo _ hyunnie _ ?” she repeated before sputtering into giggles.

“Be quiet,” Sunggyu spoke through clenched teeth as he pulled his hood on over his head and sunk down into his seat, closing his eyes. “I haven’t been getting much sleep lately,” he whined. He’d much rather have her worry about his health than to tease him about this.

“Okay,” Kate yielded it, or feigned to. She then giggled. “Woohyunnie. You  _ like  _ him. Ow!” she yelped. Sunggyu had hit her, even though he was pretending to sleep. He heard it all. “As a friend. As a friend!” Kate corrected herself. “I’m glad that you guys were able to put away your grudges and get along. Really glad.”

A corner of his mouth twitched upwards. “Me too.”

* * *

When they arrived at the campus, Sunggyu didn’t go with Kate and Sungyeol to get coffee as he usually did, instead he went straight to the library in order to meet with Woohyun. They hadn’t really planned on a specific time to meet, so Sunggyu decided just to find the other as soon as he got onto the campus. And it was easy to find Woohyun. The younger had walked in front of Sunggyu, pushing the cart as he went by, not even noticing Sunggyu waving at him.  Sunggyu lowered his hand.  _ What now? _

What else could he do but follow Woohyun? Who was speeding by the shelves, making his way to the elevator, humming as he went. He didn’t feel anyone following him, or he felt it and didn’t care, thinking that it was just any other student. Sunggyu decided to make the most of it and pulled his hood down lower, hiding more of his face. His eyes were covered by the shadows and all that could be seen was a wicked smile. When Woohyun stopped at the elevator and pushed the button, Sunggyu noticed Woohyun’s eyes flickering over to him, and Woohyun pushed the button again and again.  _ He’s freaked out _ . Sunggyu’s grin widened. This was going to be fun.

“Hello, Nam Woohyun.”

“Holy shi—Sunggyu, don’t do that,” Woohyun spoke, out-of-breath, while clutching his chest. He pushed the elder. “I thought you were somebody else.”

“Who?” Sunggyu challenged with a laugh.

“There are some scary people out there nowadays,” Woohyun answered seriously, ending with a sigh.

Sunggyu sighed as well. “Don’t I know it?”

“You do,” the younger added quietly, his voice was nearly covered by the beep of the elevator, announcing its own arrival. When the doors opened, he rolled his cart inside. And Sunggyu followed him inside. “I don’t think I can meet with you now,” Woohyun admitted once the doors closed. “I have to work and I haven’t completed an assignment for another class. I’d forgotten about it.”

“Oh,” Sunggyu mumbled. He leaned against the wall. “I understand.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m busy too.”

“Are you still busy after classes?” Woohyun suddenly asked. Sunggyu rolled his head to look at the other. “Can we meet then?”

Sunggyu nodded. “Yea, let’s meet then.” The elevator then beeped again. They’d reached the floor already, and Woohyun was getting ready to roll right out of it. So Sunggyu quickly spat out before the doors closed again. “You have my number. Text me!”

“Huh?” The younger stumbled and stopped in the doorway. “Ack!” he yelped, as the elevator doors hit his sides before popping open again. But he was smiling regardless. “Oh, I’ll text you,” he said as he stepped out and the doors closed again.

And when the doors shut again, Sunggyu finally left out the laughter that he’d been holding back. Woohyun  _ seriously _ had to be the one taking all of Sungyeol’s bad luck. The boy never seemed to catch a break, even the elevator wasn’t going easy on him. But...at least he was fortunate enough to live at another part of the city. Sunggyu sobered up quickly and the laughter stopped. He pressed the button for the first floor, and the elevator jolted, moving back down.

It would’ve been nice to talk to someone now, about anything, anything that wasn’t about his apartment. Sunggyu needed to distract himself. He already couldn’t sleep well because he kept thinking about it. How could he study? And for that reason, Sunggyu was sad to leave Woohyun now, or that’s what he told himself.

* * *

And Sunggyu’s mood didn’t improve. He had a hard time concentrating while studying and in class. He felt tense and paranoid. His head was on a swivel, eyes darting towards anything that moved.  _ I’m on campus. It’s okay _ , he’d think and try to clear his head. But he’d still whip his head around at any sudden noise.  _ What’s wrong with me? _

But when lunch came, Sunggyu began to feel better, and he was definitely distracted. There were more people at their lunch table. Dongwoo, Hoya, and Karen joined them. And Kate felt like their table needed more women, and so she pulled some of her classmates from her psychology courses. They could barely squeeze everyone and their lunches onto the table, but that might’ve been for the best. Sunggyu’s heart felt at rest being sandwiched in between Kate and (oddly enough) Woohyun. Sunggyu hardly had any time to think of much else besides the several conversations being carried on at the table. It was nice. It was natural. 

And before they all went their own ways, Woohyun leaned in and told him that he only had one class left that day. “Is it okay to meet after that?”

“Yea, that’s fine,” Sunggyu replied as he got up from the table. “I’ll see you then.”

“See you then,” Woohyun repeated and then left with Dongwoo for their class. Sunggyu watched them leave.  _ They seem close too. Really close _ .

“Are you okay?”

“Hm?” Sunggyu looked over and saw his ‘favorite’ couple standing right next to him. The two of them were wearing matching expressions of worry.

Sungyeol glanced down at his girlfriend before looking back at Sunggyu and saying, “Hyung, we were thinking that maybe you should move in…”

“I have to go to class,” Sunggyu cut him off and turned his back towards them. He’d gone a whole hour without thinking of that mess, and he felt resentful that Sungyeol brought it back to the front of his mind.  _ Why did you have to ruin it? _ Jinyoung’s face flashed through his mind and then the image of the paramedics putting his battered body into the back of the ambulance. Sunggyu shivered as he stepped outside, even though the sun was out and warm. He pulled his hood over his head again. “Just one more class.”

* * *

_ So he really is a liar. I was right about that _ , Sunggyu thought as he watched Woohyun flip through his notes from Kang’s class. Their classes ended for the day and now they were finally meeting at the library. But something was off. Sunggyu crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head as the younger frantically searched through his notes for something, anything to ask. Woohyun knew everything perfectly fine. He didn’t need Sunggyu’s help. So then why did Woohyun call this morning? Sunggyu tilted his head to the other side, looking at the younger from a different angle.  _ Did Kate tell him to call? Or...is he worried too? _ Sunggyu then remembered what happened that morning when he spooked Woohyun.  _ There are some scary people out there nowadays _ . The panicked look in his eyes.  _ Woohyun’s scared _ .

Sunggyu started to tap his pencil against the table impatiently. It was time to confront this head on: “Woohyun, why did you ask for my help? You know all of this.”

Woohyun finally looked up from his notebook. “I just wanted to make sure that I understood it,” he lied again. “It’s always good to go over things anyway, helps you remember them and...what? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Sunggyu had been holding back his laughter as Woohyun was talking and now that the younger had stopped, he let it all out, sputtering, “You’re bull-shitting.”

Woohyun looked about himself and then pointed at himself with his pen. “Me?” he asked.

“Yes, you,” Sunggyu replied, pointing at him with his own pencil, while still laughing. 

Woohyun dropped his pen to the table and tapped it a few times against the surface, biting his bottom lip, before finally admitting, “Okay, I lied.”

“Why did you call this morning?” Sunggyu asked.

Woohyun closed his notebook, and the fluttering pages almost covered his soft answer, just above a whisper: “Because I’m  _ scared _ .” 

Sunggyu snorted. “You don’t have to be scared. The attacker is nowhere near you,” he tried to allay the other’s worries. But it didn’t work. Woohyun raised his eyes to the elder, staring at him as if he were crazy.

“Sunggyu,” he called to him sternly. “I’m scared  _ for you _ ,” Woohyun clarified, not blinking as he spoke. “And honestly, you being so calm and acting like it isn’t a big deal is scaring me even more.”

Sunggyu stiffened and shifted awkwardly in his seat. The younger’s piercing gaze was stinging. “Why?” he whispered.

“Because…” Woohyun closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before continuing to speak and glare, “Because I feel like the calmer you are, the more scared you are.”

“Well,” Sunggyu paused and chewed on the inside of his cheeks. His eyes were following his fingers, playing with the edge of the table. “That’s not the case,” he spoke lowly through a tight throat. “I’m fine.” 

Woohyun didn’t seem to be pleased with that answer. “Sunggyu, you could be...where are you going?”

Sunggyu had stood up. He was far from wanting to hear Woohyun (especially Woohyun) to lecture him about this. “Since you don’t need my help, I’m going to go eat,” he declared and began to pack up his stuff.

“Fine,” Woohyun conceded, but then stood up too. “I’m coming with you.”

“Fine,” Sunggyu muttered as he through his bookbag on. It would seem that he couldn’t shake Woohyun off, but it would also seem like Sunggyu didn’t even mind. The last thing he wanted to be was in the dark, alone, all alone.

* * *

Luckily for Sunggyu, Woohyun also had the budget of a beggar, so they went to the convenience store nearby and collected an odd array of fast but tasty foods. And Woohyun joined Sunggyu outside at a table with the piece de resistance of their buffet: a six pack of beer. But it wasn’t free for Sunggyu to drink. It came at a pretty hefty price. “I’ll give you one, if you talk to me about the attacks,” Woohyun bargained.

“Then I don’t need it,” Sunggyu declined and opted to drink his own cola instead.

“Suit yourself,” the younger replied with a shrug. He then plucked a can from the six, popped the tab, and took a generous gulp from it. Sunggyu watched the other’s adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he drank. Woohyun had tilted his head back, obviously making a show of it all, especially when he finally took the can from his lips, sucked in air sharply through his teeth, and wiped his lips roughly with his forearm. “Damn, that’s good,” Woohyun said as he put the can back down onto the table. “There’s nothing better after a long day of studying than a cold beer, right? When you can finally take a break and relax. It really helps you to clear your mind too. You know, sometimes when I have a hard time sleeping and am as tired as  _ you  _ look, I just have a beer or two and I’m out,” he admitted to his low tolerance shamelessly. “Yes, beer is…”

“Give me one,” Sunggyu cut him off while reaching for one of the cans. 

But his hand was slapped away. “You know the deal,” Woohyun reminded him. “Talk, and then you can drink.”

“Or I can talk while I drink,” Sunggyu argued as he batted the other’s hand away and picked up a beer. And before Woohyun opened his mouth to object, which he did, Sunggyu had already opened the can and began drinking. It was a placebo effect, but Sunggyu was already feeling better and his thoughts were lighter as the bubbles traveled down his throat and the bitterness hit his tongue. When you have too many thoughts, beer is really the best. Sunggyu mimicked the other’s behavior a few seconds earlier and wiped his lips before setting the can down. “Damn, that’s good.” However, he didn’t let go of the can; he held onto it, like a shield before opening himself up to attack (or Woohyun’s scrutiny). “Okay, so,” he began as he lifted his eyes up from the can to the other’s. “What do you want to know?” 

“How are you doing, Sunggyu?” it was a simple enough question, but it was complicated by the caveat Woohyun had added. “Tell me the truth.”

Sunggyu let out a short laugh and dropped his sight to the can in his hands. He contemplated taking another drink, stalling, hoping that Woohyun would ask something else, but he decided against it. The fox was going to put himself at the mercy of the wolf, just this once. 

“Not well.” And then Sunggyu proceeded to tell Woohyun everything that was on his mind. 

After the first attack, Sunggyu was shaken, yes, but truly fine. Karem had come back from hospital the next day, and other than the police car that would patrol their neighborhood at night, things seemed to return back to normal. And then the second attack happened. Sunggyu was more attached to the gay couple down the street than he had been to other one, more invested. Sunggyu looked at them and hoped that he’d end up like them, end up with someone he loved dearly. He saw his future, which grew bleak when the men were beat up just outside of their home. 

But the one that had affected Sunggyu the most was the third and most recent attack. The violence had gone from just outside his home to just down the stairs, inching closer and closer to him every time. Sunggyu felt as if the attacker was closing in on him. And Jinyoung...yes, he would be what some consider as ‘flamboyant’ but it wasn’t like the old couple, holding hands in public. Jinyoung had carried his affairs under the cover of night, in secret, but the attacker still found them out. Jinyoung was being stalked, watched at every twist and turn. 

And that put Sunggyu very much on edge. Not even beer could dull the blade of the sword that Sunggyu felt like was hanging over his head, threatening to fall and pierce him through. He was so very tense. But the tension eased a little when Woohyun glided his hand across the table and covered Sunggyu’s. 

“This,” Woohyun’s voice cracked; it had barely sounded like he spoke an actual word. He then cleared his throat and tried again, “This is why I’m afraid to tell people about me. I don’t want to give them a reason to hate me.”

Sunggyu snorted. “People will hate you for more than just that,” he remarked.

Woohyun pulled his hand away and went to grab another beer. “Well, thanks for that,” he grumbled as he opened the can. He took a quick sip and then set it down. “We should get going,” he added and began to clear the table. 

“No, no, no, that’s not what I meant,” Sunggyu sputtered as he suddenly stood up.

Woohyun stopped, still holding the trash in his hands, and looked at the other curiously. “Then what did you mean?” 

“I meant...there are some people who are just...hateful?” Sunggyu struggled to put his dispersed thoughts into order. “And they’ll just take their wrath out on anyone for any reason. Good or not.”

Woohyun nodded as he fixed his gaze on his feet. “Like this guy?” he suggested.

“Yea like this bastard,” Sunggyu reiterated. Together they cleared the table, in silence. Woohyun glanced over at Sunggyu before finishing the last beer and tossing the empty can into the recycling bin.

“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” Woohyun broke the silence. He didn’t turn to face Sunggyu as he walked towards the bus stop, but he kept talking, “It makes me feel worse that’s he’s doing this for no reason. There’s nothing you can do.”

Sunggyu followed him and stood at his side as they waited for the bus. “You know, I have a theory about him,” he told the other. “I think there’s a reason behind the attacks.”

“What is it?” now Woohyun was looking at him again when he asked that question.

Sunggyu stepped closer to him and dropped his voice, “He doesn’t just attack gays.” Woohyun pulled back a bit, eyes wide, surprised, before leaning back in. “He attacked the mixed race couple down the street too.”

“Oh right,” Woohyun muttered under his breath, whispering like the other. “Kate and Sungyeol…”

“They should be careful too,” Sunggyu filled in for him. “I think that the guy thinks he’s a vigilante, protecting the sanctity of marriage or something,” he finally revealed his theory that had been rolling in his mind. “Jinyoung-ssi was sleeping with a married man. So that’s why...what happened to him, happened to him.”

A hand came to rest on his back. Woohyun wasn’t patting his back or was his hand applying much pressure. It was just there. “You’ve been thinking about this a lot,” he spoke in a hushed voice.

“I have,” Sunggyu admitted, and after he did so, the bus finally arrived. Both of them climbed on and sat down next to each other, but even though he could have, Sunggyu didn’t leave the conversation back at the stop when the bus pulled away. He kept talking as they were getting settled. “I just wanted to understand why it was happening. But ultimately...he’s just a hateful person. And that’s why,” Sunggyu finished. He knew Woohyun wouldn’t like that answer, but it was the only one Sunggyu had.  _ There’s nothing we can do _ . Sunggyu closed his eyes and leaned his head back onto the headrest. “So it doesn’t matter if you’re the most adorable creature on the planet. He’s still going to hate you,” he finished in a tired voice.

But to his surprise, Woohyun sputtered to a laugh. “Who’s the most adorable creature on the planet? Me?” of course, out of everything that he’d said, that was the part that Woohyun chose to concentrate on.

Sunggyu opened his eyes again and sighed. “It was just an example,” he defended himself.

“You think I’m cute,” Woohyun wouldn’t back down from it, even when Sunggyu scoffed and waved his hand at the other, denying it. “You’ve told me that before. ‘You being cute is a desperate cry for attention,’” Woohyun reminded him, even mimicking his voice from back then. “Even then you thought I was cute.”

Shit, I did. Sunggyu pinched the gap between his eyes as he thought, trying to clear his head so he could find the answer. The only thing that he could think of was this: “But it’s like a fact. Nam Woohyun is cute, like Kim Sunggyu is sexy. If you had to sum us up in one word, that would be it.”

“That’s a  _ fact _ ?!” Woohyun exclaimed, with his eyes almost bugging out in shock.

“Of course!” Sunggyu raised his voice as well. “ I’m oozing sexy charisma! Especially in my gaze. Just watch this,” he nudged the other as he issued the command and then pointed to his eyes. Then he narrowed his eyes, just slightly, enough for his gaze to say ‘I’m looking at only you.’ He jutted out his jaw, tilting it up as he looked down at the other.

Woohyun was watching him intently, but his face was still blank. “I’m waiting,” he muttered. Sunggyu raised an eyebrow.  _ Huh? _ Woohyun laughed, hysterically. “Oh wait? Was that it? That was your sexy gaze?”

Sunggyu hit him in the shoulder. “It’s sexy,” he insisted, but he quickly lost that confidence and cocked his head. “...isn’t it?”

“Isn’t it?” Woohyun mocked him and kept laughing. “It’s funny.”

“I’d like to see you do better,” Sunggyu challenged.

“Fine,” Woohyun accepted it. He then grabbed one of Sunggyu’s shoulders, forcing the elder to turn towards him. Woohyun didn’t lift his chin like Sunggyu did, but lowered his head slightly, looking up at the other with eyes that weren’t innocent but dark and...somewhat menacing. The wolf inside of him was crawling out again, but then Woohyun’s cheeks puffed out suddenly as he tried to hold back his laughter. It spilled out anyway. “Later. I’ll do it some other time,” he promised (which Sunggyu wished he wouldn’t keep). Woohyun chuckled voicelessly now, shoulders jostling up and down. “I still can’t get that image of you going like this…” he paused to copy Sunggyu’s face from earlier (or make a caricature out of it). “...out of my mind.”

“Hauntingly sexy, right?” Sunggyu said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Woohyun shivered. “It’s haunting, alright,” he admitted. And although he was joking, he voice sounded less jovial than it had been for the most of the night. Perhaps his shiver wasn’t in jest either, but he felt chilled even on this warm night.  _ Even I’m feeling kind of warm _ , Sunggyu thought as he pushed up his sleeves up his arms.  _ Wait, when did we get outside? _ Sunggyu looked about him in surprise.  _ When did we get here? _ Now he knew why Woohyun’s mood was dampening. Neither of them wanted to be here, but they had to be, after all, Sunggyu did live in this building. Woohyun sighed. “Well, this is your place.”

“It is,” Sunggyu mumbled, scarcely moving his lips. His eyes drifted over to the dark alleyway, and then they quickly snapped back over to Woohyun. “I guess I’ll see you around.”

“Oh,” Woohyun muttered. But he didn’t move yet, although his whole body was jittering. He was anxious.  _ Why? For me? _ Sunggyu thought. And he was about to open his mouth to say something, but then Woohyun finally made a move, wrapping his arms tightly around Sunggyu in a hug. “Be safe, Sunggyu,” Woohyun whispered. “If you need anything, call me, okay?”

“Alright,” Sunggyu agreed, somewhat reluctantly. His hands were slowly moving up, almost connecting behind the other’s back.

Then Woohyun let him go, slipping out from the other. “See you tomorrow!” he said, faking cheerfulness and that smile on his face. The corner of his mouth was twitching. 

So Sunggyu returned his fake smile with one of his own. He waved at Woohyun who was already turning around to leave. “See ya.”

And after he said goodbye, Sunggyu darted inside and up the stairs, then inside his apartment, locking the door and placing a chair in front of the door for good measure. Nothing could get in through that door. Hopefully not any nightmares either.

* * *

That Saturday, Sunggyu was awaken by sirens or an alarm, but by clammering coming from next door.  _ Myungsoo! Myungeun! _ Sunggyu bolted upright in his bed as soon as he realized what those sounds could mean. He scampered up to his feet and slid to the door. He ripped it open just in like to see a policeman walk by.

“Myungsoo-yah?” his voice shook as he called out for his neighbor.

“Hyung?” Myungsoo responded, popping out of his apartment and walking in the steps of the officer.

Sunggyu reached out for him and grabbed his arm, pulling him closer so that he could get a good luck at him. Myungsoo appeared to be fine, thankfully. Sunggyu sighed in relief, letting the other go, and asked, “What’s going on?”

Myungsoo smirked and replied, “I’m moving.”

Sunggyu’s suspicions were right. The attacker thought that he was protecting the neighborhood, which was ridden with vice in his mind. Myungsoo and Myungeun included. Because of the news report, the attacker had believed that they were dating and that Myungsoo was taking advantage of a minor and was living with her in sin. When it was an hour or two before dawn, Myungsoo was coming back from practice and saw that his door was now scrawled with red spray paint, dripping down the door like blood and was still wet to the touch. 

“Leave the girl alone,” Sunggyu read the message out loud, as it was still on the door. It was clear. Myungsoo was the target this time and not Myungeun, who was fast asleep the entire time, even when the attacker had broken into their apartment and slashed Myungsoo’s face in every picture of the siblings together. 

Before she woke up, Myungsoo took down every mutilated picture and threw them into the trash. And when she did wake up, he acted as if nothing had happened and walked her to the bus, telling her that maybe it was time that she moved into the dorms with the other trainees. Myungeun agreed, and Myungsoo said he’d drop her things off at the company later. When the bus pulled away, Myungsoo pulled out his phone and called the police. And now, he was packing to move into the company’s dorms himself. It was too risky for him to stay here any longer.

“There’s just one thing I don’t understand about all of this,” Myungsoo complained when the both of them relocated into his apartment. Sunggyu was helping him pack up, even though there wasn’t much in the small room.

“Just  _ one _ thing?” Sunggyu tried to lighten up the dark morning. 

“Eung, just one,” Myungsoo replied. “Why do people keep thinking that Myungeun and I are dating? What? Do we not look alike?”

“No,” Sunggyu answered honestly. “You guys don’t look related at all, seriously.”

Myungsoo frowned at that and continued to fold his clothes. “I think we do. We have the same ears,” he grumbled.

Sunggyu rolled his eyes. “Right, how could I forget that?” he teased. But Myungsoo didn’t hear it, or just ignored it, choosing to be engrossed in his packing instead. Sunggyu stopped for a moment and watched him. Myungsoo was  _ seriously _ calm right now, too calm.

_ I feel like the calmer you are, the more scared you are...Just how scared are you right now, Myungsoo? _

* * *

Within two hours, everything in the apartment was packed in a suitcase or a box, ready to go, all except for one thing. “I know that this isn’t much, after all of the help you’ve given us, but I want you to have this, hyung,” Myungsoo said as he handed the case over to Sunggyu, who was reluctant to accept it.

“But, Soo, this is your guitar,” Sunggyu said. “I can’t take this.” He tried to give it back, but Myungsoo stuffed his hands into his pockets and shook his head.

“I want you to have it,” he repeated. His gaze dropped to the guitar and he sighed with a faint smile on his face, as if he was wishing it farewell in his head. “I don’t need it anymore. I’m done with that part of my life.” He raised his eyes to Sunggyu’s. “I’m going to be an actor now.”

“Huh?” Sunggyu gasped as he put down the guitar at his side. “I thought you were going to be a singer?” 

“I changed my mind,” Myungsoo revealed. “And I think it’s for the better. Or at least the company said it was,” he confessed with a weak smile. He still sounded sad, but firm in his decision. 

“Well, okay,” Sunggyu gave in. And he decided leave Myungsoo with a gift in return, a hug. “Don’t be a stranger,” he said as he patted the other’s back warmly. 

“I won’t,” Myungsoo promised, squeezing him tightly before breaking off the hug. “Be safe, hyung.”

_ Now everyone is telling me this _ . Sunggyu huffed, “I will.” But Myungsoo still didn’t seem satisfied. He opened his mouth, but then quickly shutting it again, deciding against talking with a shake of his head. “What? What were you going to say?” Sunggyu prodded him.

“It’s just that,” Myungsoo began softly, swaying back and forth in his spot. He probably thought he was treading sensitive territory with what he was about to say. “No matter what, no matter what’s going on right now...You’re not weird, hyung. You’re doing nothing wrong. It’s okay.”

A smile spread across Sunggyu’s face and he felt like hugging the other again in gratefulness, but he didn’t. Instead he just said, “Thanks, Soo. I’ll see you around.”

Soon after that, Myungsoo had moved out of the apartment (with the help of the policemen to escort him out). And the attacks had moved from across the street, to just downstairs, and now right next door. 

Maybe the one taking all of Sungyeol's bad luck was Sunggyu after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was about time someone said that the Myungs don't look alike.


	8. Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate makes mandu again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special update for a special time!

After Myungsoo and Myungeun left, the building felt empty and quiet. There wasn’t someone to greet him on the stoop with a smile and a song now that Myungsoo was gone. There was no Jinyoung to fill his ear with his mundane but entertaining chatter. No Myungeun crying or whimpering at his door. No bickering siblings next door. There was nothing but silence and Sunggyu.

Even though his home no longer felt like home, Sunggyu stayed, locked inside his apartment throughout the rest of Saturday and all day Sunday, with a small bookshelf drug over in front of the door. He thought this place was going to be his little sanctuary, hiding him safely from the danger laid in wait outside of these four walls. No one could see Sunggyu. You could barely hear him. It would be entirely possible at the moment to think that Kim Sunggyu didn’t exist and that this apartment was empty, just like a few others, that no one would know what Sunggyu was. But as the weekend dragged on, this place began to feel like a prison. And Sunggyu was incredibly bored and lonely. However going outside was still forbidden (a self-imposed sentence, but he still followed it). So he tried his best to keep himself entertained indoors.

He had finished all of his reading for the week, so he tried to stomach the cheese drama that Sungyeol and Kate were watching earlier. However Sunggyu stopped soon after he began it. “There’s not even any cheese in it,” he grumbled as the screen turned black. Without much else to distract him or pass the time, Sunggyu turned to the guitar stashed in the corner of the room, Myungsoo’s guitar. Sunggyu took the guitar into his lap. His fingers glided over the strings for a few minutes as he gathered his bearings. The last time that he tried to play the guitar was in high school, too long ago. It felt so foreign in his hands, or maybe it felt strange because it wasn’t his. After a few moments, he strummed a few chords and then stopped again, snorting. “Man, I suck.” So he spent the rest of the weekend trying to get reacquainted with it.

Then finally, finally, Sunday became Monday, and Sunggyu pulled the bookshelf away from the door and opened the door slowly, bit by bit, gradually poking his head out, looking about. The coast was clear, and he quickly walked out of the building, his feet quickly shuffling until he reached the bus stop. Then he had to stop. There was no where else for him to run off to. Sunggyu clutched onto the straps at his shoulders. He was bringing Myungsoo’s guitar with him today. He didn’t really know why he was, but it felt right. It felt like protection. With something at his back, it was comforting, almost like it was hiding him from all of the prying eyes, which, of course, it wasn’t. But Sunggyu wasn’t thinking rationally. He was paranoid, scared to death. He doing whatever made him feel safe, even if it seemed silly. And maybe he did look silly when he got on the bus, put the guitar in his lap, and hugged it tightly. But at the moment, Sunggyu was no more than a scared animal, trying to escape the claws of an unknown predator.

 _Maybe I should’ve waited longer and ridden with Kate. I should’ve waited. I should’ve_...

His nerves and doubts quieted down once he reached campus, but they were still there. And now sitting at the cafe, waiting for Kate and Sungyeol to show up, having coffee in his system, Sunggyu’s hands were shaking. After a while, he gave up on drinking, especially when he spilled a little on his clothes. Instead, he put his hands inside the pockets of his hoodie and closed his eyes. And waited. And waited…

“What’s with the hood? Aren’t you hot?”

Sunggyu felt a smile crack across his stone face (it hurt slightly, when was the last time he’d smiled) and then opened his eyes. Sungyeol and Kate were already pulling up seats at his table and sitting down.

“No,” Sunggyu replied with a soft voice and pulled down his hood.

Kate smirked. “It seems like someone is in a good mood. Did anything happen to you this weekend? We hadn’t heard from you,” she asked.

“Uh,” Sunggyu stammered, knocked back by the question. _Should I tell them?_ Sunggyu studied his two friends, looking at him eagerly with great grins on their faces. He licked his lips. Suddenly his mouth felt dry. _How? How do I even start?_

“Did you do something with Woohyun?” Sungyeol guessed. “We hadn’t heard from him either. He didn’t show up to the club meeting either.”

Sunggyu’s eyes went wide. “What? He didn’t?” He then cleared his throat and tried drinking coffee again. He didn’t know that his voice could get that high. _Just because something happened to Myungsoo and Myungeun, doesn’t mean that everyone is in danger_.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Kate spoke his next thought out loud. She had a smile on her face, but was eyeing the other suspiciously. “I think I remember Woohyun telling us that he had a family this weekend when we all had lunch.”

“Ah right,” Sungyeol murmured. He then he turned towards Sunggyu. “But you still haven’t answered the question: why are you in such a good mood?”

Sunggyu smile widened as he leaned back into his chair. “No reason. I’m just happy to see you guys.”

“Aish, don’t give me that crap,” Sungyeol swore at him with a cheeky smile.

Sunggyu chuckled, feeling more and more at ease. This was normal. Things were finally normal. “It’s true,” he fought back.

“Hm? Gyu, is that a guitar?” Kate asked suddenly, tilting her head to get a better look at the case laying next to her friend.

“Do you play?” Sungyeol added.

The smile fell from Sunggyu’s face along with his gaze, landing on the guitar case. “No, not really.”

* * *

The rest of the morning past like that. At some points he was elated, at others calm, but in the end, he fell back into fear. By the afternoon, he grew as tense as the guitar strings on his back, jumping at sudden sounds or movements. Sunggyu also became annoyed. They didn’t know. No one knew about Myungsoo or Myungeun. But how could they? Sunggyu wouldn’t tell them. He didn’t know how to bring it up. And so he swallowed those words again and again, leaving a large lump in his throat and a dry mouth. On top of that, he felt like his vision was getting hazy. Everyone else around him were all a blur, going about their day as usual, as if nothing had happened. As if nothing would happen. Faces too, all the faces were hazy, even his friends. His friends, who were they again? His chest felt tight. Sunggyu was getting short of breath, on the verge of hyperventilating. He was just like some terrified prey, trembling, anxious to find a hole to hide in.

That’s when the wolf came.

“Sunggyu, are you okay?” Woohyun asked as he came over to sit next to the other during lunch. He startled Sunggyu at first, but some of the tension melted away. The smile returned.

“I’m fine,” Sunggyu replied. _For now, I’m fine_. He looked around and could see all of his friends, his dear friends, clearly. _And I will be fine_.

* * *

That night, Sunggyu stayed on campus as late as he possibly could. He bought a cheap meal at the convenience store and passed the rest of the time in the library. He studied. He wandered around. He flipped through books. He took a short nap. All the while, he still had the guitar with him. When it was around, it felt like he had a friend, even though Kate and Sungyeol had left hours ago.

But then the part of the library he was in closed, and he was ushered out of the door by a very persistent woman who very much wanted to go home (unlike Sunggyu). So then he sat on the bench outside of the library, guitar in his lap and hood drawn. And he played. Now that melody kept him company in the dark and lonely night, that erratic and dissonant song that he was playing now.

“You...you _really_ suck.”

Sunggyu raised his head and saw his wolf again, prowling as usual in the night. He grinned and placed the guitar to the side. “Yea, well, it’s my second day playing, and considering that, I’m a genius,” he retorted. Woohyun walked up to the bench and stood in front of him. While he did so, Sunggyu asked, “What are you doing here so late?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Woohyun replied cheekily, but then he from his brows to his jaw, his usually bright expression darkened when he realized, “Nevermind. I know why.”

“No, you don’t,” Sunggyu dismissed, laughing through his tight throat, hoping to lighten things up again. Everything was so dark as it was. _Please don’t_ …

“It’s Myungsoo, right? Myungeun too,” Woohyun spoke lowly as he sat down in the spot next to the other. Sunggyu’s jaw went slack but the rest of his body froze. Flashes of what he’d seen Saturday morning sped across his mind and then stopped at that dark alley, police lights bouncing off its grim walls. “Myungsoo told me when he moved into the dorms,” Woohyun answered the question on his mind. “That’s _awfully_ close. And just..awful,” his voice kept lowering further and further, disappearing in the bleak air. His gaze then flickered over to the elder as he bit his lip. “Hey, Sunggyu…”

“Why are you here so late?” Sunggyu tried desperately to change the subject. The unnatural smile tore at his face. He nudged the other. “You still haven’t told me that.”

“I was here studying because I’m a student,” Woohyun’s remark was playful but his face was still somber.

But Sunggyu was attempting to smile enough for the both of them. “Me too. That’s why I was here,” he tried to convince the younger. “Seriously.”

“Okay.” Woohyun was anything but convinced but acted like he was nonetheless.

“But I got kicked out a while ago. How is it that you came out just now?” Sunggyu asked.

Now the cunning grin returned to the wolf’s face. “I’m hard to catch,” Woohyun answered. “And I know the girl working tonight. She let me stay until I finished.”

“Ah, of course you do,” Sunggyu responded. With a sigh, he pulled the guitar from his lap and began to pack it up.

“Yea,” Woohyun muttered, but something about it just seemed off. Sunggyu glanced up to see Woohyun’s eyes darting all over him. “Sunggyu?” Woohyun called out to the other as soon as their gazes meet.

“Hm?” Sunggyu hummed, trying his best not to blink or let his eyes stray away.

“Let’s go home.”

* * *

They went home together that night; each to their own, but Sunggyu was grateful for the company. It wasn’t like Woohyun made for much protection, and he was as intimidating looking as a chipmunk. But maybe the two of them could at least overwhelm the attacker by number and maybe one could call for help while the other struggled with the attacker. That would be Woohyun, of course. And then Sunggyu would…

“We’re here,” Woohyun announced once they reached Sunggyu’s apartment.

“Huh?” Sunggyu was pulled away from his thoughts, from his ‘plan,’ and was pulled into reality, to his apartment building, eerily empty and quiet, like the street was, like that alley was. Sunggyu swallowed harshly and then gave a hesitant smile. “So we are.” He turned to face Woohyun. “Well...good night.” He finally tore a hand away from the strap of the bag and waved.

“Good night,” Woohyun said back, but he wasn’t having any of Sunggyu’s awkward waving crap. He put down the elder’s arm and drew him in for a hug, like he did that night last week, when the world wasn’t so...so much like this. “Be safe, Sunggyu,” Woohyun whispered, just like the time before.

But unlike the time before, Sunggyu almost immediately reciprocated the hug, wrapping his arms around the other and drawing him in closer until he could feel it, until he could feel the weight of the other pressing on him like the guitar on his back. Sunggyu sighed when he felt the other’s hold tighten as well, and then lowered his head onto Woohyun’s shoulder, hiding the rest of his face not covered by the hoodie into the crook of the other’s neck. Sunggyu closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. He finally felt at peace. With his front and back covered like this, he was safe. He was hidden. No one could see him, in his mind.

Then Woohyun moved, his hand traveling up the other’s back until it stopped at Sunggyu’s head. Woohyun chuckled, jostling the both of them softly, and stroked the back of the other’s head. “You must be _really_ scared,” Woohyun stated. “You’re not acting so...unaffected anymore.”

Sunggyu pulled himself away, or at least tried to. It took him awhile to disentangle himself from the other and push Woohyun away (Woohyun wasn’t being the most helpful). “I’m fine,” Sunggyu grumbled after finally managing to take a step away from the other.

But he wasn’t rid of Woohyun entirely. The younger’s hand was still resting on Sunggyu’s arm, but Sunggyu wasn’t moving away from it anytime soon. Woohyun’s eyes were as soft as his touch. “You’re not,” his voice was weak like his smile, but what he said wasn’t wrong.

“I am,” but that wasn’t going to keep Sunggyu from denying it. He walked away from the other, letting that hand slide down, and he went to the stoop and sat down on the first step, pulling the guitar case back into his lap and hooking his chin over it. He closed his eyes and sighed once more. He had to keep denying it. It couldn’t give into it. He was already acting so...not like his usual self.

“Fine, you’re fine,” Woohyun played along. Even with his eyes closed, Sunggyu could sense him approaching closer and closer, the footsteps scuffing the ground, the voice so close Sunggyu could almost feel it. “Just dandy,” Woohyun’s voice was thick with sarcasm. Sunggyu opened his eyes again just in time to see Woohyun sit down next to him on the stoop. And Woohyun was staring straight at him, with a steady gaze this time. “Do…” he stopped almost as soon as he started to lick his lips and think it over once more. Woohyun might’ve slowly been losing his confidence, but that gaze didn’t waver.

“What?” Sunggyu prodded him, staring right back.

“Do you want to come home with me? And spend the night?”

“Huh?”

Woohyun chuckled and finally dropped his eyes while he nudged the other. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s not like I asked you over for some ramyun,” he clarified with that innuendo. Sunggyu felt his face relax at that, and his whole body cool down. He didn’t want to know what kind of expression his face had seconds earlier, what it was giving away. Sunggyu winced, not caring if Woohyun took notice of it or not; he was too embarrassed already. But Woohyun probably was too because he kept explaining himself: “I could take you to Sungyeol’s or Kate’s or…”

“You don’t need to take me anywhere. I’m fine right here,” Sunggyu cut him off. “Besides, I can take myself places.”

“Really? You’re fine being _right_ here?” Woohyun challenged, pointing down at where they were sitting. Sunggyu nodded firmly, which made Woohyun sputter into a laugh. “What? Are you planning on spending the whole night on the stoop? Are you ever going to go inside?” he teased the other.

“No, of course I’m going to go inside. Right now,” Sunggyu growled through gritted teeth as he slung the guitar back onto his back and pushed himself back up. He took the steps two at a time, reaching the top at no time. He was already at the door, about to open it.

“I didn’t mean for it to be a challenge, Sunggyu.” Sunggyu turned his head back around and looked down at Woohyun who was now standing at the bottom of the stairs, staring back up at him. “No one is going to think less of you if you don’t want to stay here,” Woohyun raised his voice, talking as if Sunggyu was much further away than he actually was. He then raised his arms at his sides. “I surely won’t. This place scares the shit out of me.”

Sunggyu turned around fully. “Then go home, Woohyun,” his tone was warmer and softer than what he was saying. “For tonight, it’ll be okay,” he spoke as if he knew. Sunggyu then raised his hand again in order to wave goodbye. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Alright. For tonight,” Woohyun repeated. He then began to walk backwards, to walk away, but still faced the elder. “Call me if you need anything, okay? I’ll see you later.” Step by step, he was dragging his feet, eyes fixed on Sunggyu as he went down the street. Sunggyu knew that the other wouldn’t stop watching until Sunggyu went inside, and so he did. Sunggyu opened up the door, went inside, and shut Woohyun out.

* * *

That night was restless. Sunggyu couldn’t sleep. He kept rolling around on his bed, but thoughts and images kept rolling about in his mind. And every noise outside of his window jolted him upright. Every shadow cast in his room seemed strange. The bookshelf pulled in front of the door offered little comfort. It wasn’t sturdy enough to keep anyone, someone, out for long. It was just a hindrance, not a wall.

The only thing Sunggyu could think of doing now was to drink the thoughts away. It wasn’t healthy, sure, but neither was a sleepless night. And Sunggyu, he just really wanted to sleep right now. So he pulled the bookshelf back to where it originally was and left his apartment in order to go buy some beer.

When he left, Sunggyu was actually thinking that he was fortunate for having a 24/7 convenience store so close by to his building, only a few blocks away. The air felt nice. The breeze was warm, caressing his skin. Outside, it was actually nice. And Sunggyu was happy for once, especially after walking out of the store with a black bag full of beer.

But that feeling didn’t last.

It all started with a single sound, the sound of an aluminum can being kicked. Sunggyu wasn’t the one to do it, and he hadn’t seen a soul all the while, with the exception of the girl working at the store. _Who?_ Sunggyu stiffened at the thought of who it could be. But it could also be something not human, like a cat or a dog. It could be, but it wasn’t. Sunggyu had a feeling that it was his worst nightmare trailing in his footsteps.

There was only one thing that Sunggyu could think of to do. _Call me. Call me_ , he kept saying that so Sunggyu finally did.

“Hello? Gyu?” Woohyun’s voice was groggy on the other side of the line. He must’ve just woken up.

“I think someone is following me,” Sunggyu barely moved his mouth as he spoke so it came out slurred, which was probably why Woohyun responded like this:

“What?”

“I think someone is following me,” Sunggyu hissed lowly into the receiver, afraid that the person behind him could hear.

This time Woohyun heard, loud and clear. “Shit,” he cursed. And Sunggyu could hear rustling noises on the other side of the line. “Where are you?”

“At the store where we ate once, but I’m on my way home,” Sunggyu responded, turning around the next corner. It wasn’t the way he usually went back home, but he was hoping to shake the other off. It didn’t work. The footfalls sounded closer now, too close.

“Turn around! Go back! I’ll meet you at the store,” Woohyun was yelling into his ear, which wasn’t helping. “Aish! F**k,” his curses was accompanied by a loud crash and several smaller ones.

But Sunggyu couldn’t be bothered by them. “No,” he denied firmly.

“What?” Woohyun’s voice sounded distracted and then he grumbled under his breath, “Stupid chair”

“No,” Sunggyu repeated as firmly as before. But the more he talked, the weaker it got, “Don’t make me turn around. Don’t make me. I won’t. I can’t.” He didn’t want to face whatever was behind him.

“Sunggyu…”

“I’m almost home anyway,” Sunggyu spoke with a smile as he turned another corner. Just one more turn, then it would be his street. He was so close. “It’s pointless to go back.”

“Alright, I’m on my way,” Woohyun announced.

Sunggyu groaned. That would be pointless too, especially now that Sunggyu was almost home. If Woohyun came, what would they do then? Sunggyu doubted that he’d be able to rid the younger easily or at all this time. He only wanted Woohyun to stay on the line. “You don’t have to…” he started to object.

But Woohyun cut him off, “I’m coming, Sunggyu. And that’s it.” A door slammed on the other side of the line. It would appear that Woohyun really was on his way already. “Are you home yet? Are you close?” he asked. Sunggyu stopped. There, in the reflection of the convex traffic mirror at the foot of his street, Sunggyu could finally see him.

“Sunggyu? Are you there? Kim Sunggyu answer me!” Woohyun bellowed.

“Hurry,” Sunggyu hissed. He began walking again, his pace quickened with every step. “I just saw him. Hurry!” he yelled and broke out into a sprint. He never heard what Woohyun said after that. He’d pulled the phone away from his ear to run faster. There was no mistaking who was behind him now. The reflection made it clear. A man with his hood drawn to the brim of his cap underneath, the rest of his face covered by a mask. It was the attacker; without a doubt it was him. It was him chasing after Sunggyu as they both raced up the hill.

 _I’m close. So close_ , those words kept repeating in Sunggyu’s head as he ran. He’d never wanted to get back to that apartment so badly, so desperately. And he never ran so fast in his life. His breath couldn’t keep up. _He_ couldn’t keep it up for much longer.

 _I have to do something. There!_ Sunggyu pulled a trash can down. He heard it crash down and several curses. But he wasn’t going to risk looking back to see what happened. He couldn’t pull his eyes away from his goal, his home.

 _I made it!_ Sunggyu had nearly past the steps to his place. He slid against the pavement, grabbing at the rails to keep himself steady. He crawled up the stairs, hands and feet, until he pulled himself up again. Maybe he did trip the attacker up. Maybe he could run up the stairs in time and barricade himself in the apartment. Maybe, possibly, Sunggyu had escaped.

He didn’t.

The attacker grabbed his ankle and dragged him down the stairs. Sunggyu tried to grab for the railing again, but it was too late. The back of his head thudded against the pavement. The attacker pinned him down. Sunggyu could hear his ragged, hoarse breath, see the blonde strands falling from underneath the hat, and feel the nails digging into his throat. But Sunggyu was far from giving up just yet. He managed to wrangle the hand away from his throat and lock with it. He got the other hand too. And now the two of them were wrestling on the ground, backs and sides, whole bodies scraping against the pavement. Sunggyu tried everything he could in order to gain the upperhand: pushing, kicking, biting, and screaming. Especially screaming. Sunggyu yelled for help, yelled curses at the assailant to scare him off. In the end, he was just yelling incoherent things, barely sounding human. They tore through his throat. And his voice was on the verge of giving out, much like his strength.

Sunggyu was taking hit after hit. His stomach, his back, arms and face, everywhere was in pain. He could barely see out of one of his eyes, which put him even more at a disadvantage, which put him more in pain. Hit after hit after... _I’m going to die. This is it. This is how I die_.

But then he felt it.

In their struggle, Sunggyu felt something in the man’s pocket, long and thin. _Shit! F**K! It’s a knife. It’s a knife!_ Now it didn’t matter how much pain he was in, how he could barely see, his instincts took over and his body remembered everything that it’d learned in military training. And he managed to flip the attacker and pin him to the ground, arms above his head. _I have to_ …Sunggyu was kicked in the stomach, knocking him over. _I have to stop him_. Now the attacker was on top of him. Sunggyu grabbed for his wrists again. _I can’t let him reach it._ The attacker was quicker. His hand was already in the pocket and he was pulling the knife out slowly, making a show of it. Like he was bragging. Like he wanted Sunggyu to know this was the end. Sunggyu wouldn’t give him that satisfaction and closed his eyes.

“Yah!”

Sunggyu’s eyes flew open at the sudden yell. The attacker too stopped and turned towards the sound. But he didn’t have to search much for the source of it because it came barrelling into his side, knocking him to the ground. Sunggyu gasped for air. How long had he been holding his breath? Panting, wheezing, Sunggyu flipped onto his side. Woohyun, it was Woohyun. He really came. And now he was fighting the attacker. The two of them were rolling on the ground. Woohyun couldn’t overpower him, yet. The attacker, was he tiring? Sunggyu clawed his way towards them, getting onto his knees. _Maybe we can...shit!_

Sunggyu forgot about the knife. The knife that the assailant had now pulled out of his pocket, aiming it at Woohyun, whose eyes were bulging in fright. Sunggyu froze. _We lost_.

Sirens. Those were sirens. The police were coming. The attacker dropped his guard for a moment as he looked back behind him, down the street, giving Woohyun enough time to knock the knife out of his hand. As for Sunggyu, the sight of the knife kicked his instincts in. It wasn’t fight or flight anymore; it was just flight. Sunggyu scrambled onto his feet, but his ankle gave out and he fell over. So now he was crawling his way back to the steps.

The he felt someone pulling at him again. “Where are you going?” A strangled noise ripped through Sunggyu’s throat as he pushed the person behind him away. He tried again for the steps, fingers clawing at the pavement. But he was pulled again, not dragged though. He was pulled back into a hold, arms were constraining him. Sunggyu fought against it, tried to escape. He flailed, his hands in fists. He managed to punch the guy behind, which loosened the hold. Sunggyu tried to get up again, but fell once more. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the ground. He was defeated, in body and spirit.

But he wasn’t pulled again. Instead, a hand laid on his back, finger by finger. “Sunggyu, it’s me. It’s me, Woohyun,” Woohyun spoke barely above a whisper. His hand rubbed Sunggyu’s back, up and down. “I...I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Can I just…” Woohyun didn’t finish asking the question, but his gestures spoke for him. His hand went up to Sunggyu’s shoulder, and his other hand on the other. Sunggyu felt Woohyun slide across the ground, inching closer to him. Carefully, Woohyun lifted Sunggyu back up and into his arms. This time, Sunggyu let him.

Sunggyu couldn’t do much else but to curl up in a ball, trying to catch his fleeting breath. Now he was actually hyperventilating. And he was crying, no wailing with what little voice he had left, which made it all that much harder to breathe. Woohyun dropped all but a hand from the other, which rested on Sunggyu’s shoulder. But Sunggyu was leaning into him, still in the fetal position, still crying. All the while Woohyun whispered, “It’s okay now. He’s gone. I’m here now. It’s just me.”

Sunggyu closed his eyes, taking in a deep and shaky breath. His heart was finally slowing down. His breath was coming back. “I thought...I...I thought,” he wheezed. He took another breath. “I was going to die.” Deep breath once again. He felt Woohyun’s head rest on top of his, his low voice hushing him. Sunggyu shut his eyes even tighter, but the flashing police lights still pierced through his eyelids. The sirens were slowly drowning everything else out, even Woohyun’s voice, even this: “I...I al...most...died.”

* * *

“Am I seriously the only one that called the police?” Woohyun lifted his head and saw Sungyeol just a few steps in front of the police officers, panting. “Bunch of f***ing idiots,” he spat. Woohyun ground his teeth together, but held himself back. He needed to be careful not to make any sudden movements again. Sunggyu was already trembling. So he only rolled his eyes as Sungyeol marched closer and wagged his finger at him. “That’s the first thing you should’ve done! Not jump the attacker. What were you thinking?” Sungyeol lectured.

“There was no time,” Woohyun spoke through gritted teeth.

Sungyeol scoffed. “No time? But you had enough time to call me”

“Yea but...” Woohyun swallowed down the rest of that shout. The policemen were getting out of their cars police cars and Sunggyu was...Woohyun glanced back down at him. Sunggyu was bigger than Woohyun was, not by much but still bigger, but right now, Woohyun felt like he was holding onto a small child. And he still hadn’t seen the elder’s face. All Woohyun could see was the black hood, covering his head. Woohyun let out a heavy sigh and looked up at Sungyeol again. “Can we not do this right now? They’re here now. Everything is fine. Sunggyu is…” he paused to glance back down at the other, but Sunggyu was still the same, small, hidden, shaking. “He’s alive.”

And that’s all that Woohyun could really ask for at the moment.

* * *

Sunggyu regained his senses in part some time after the police came. He sobered up enough to give his own account of the events, what the attacker look like, what he sounded like. “I’m not sure,” Sunggyu replied. “He’s taller than I am, by a few centimeters. But other than that, I’m not sure what else to tell you. He was covered. I couldn’t see anything. Oh! He has blonde hair! Does that help?” he finished, looking up at the officers eagerly. He wanted nothing more for this attacker to be gone.

“It does,” the officer responded with flat affect. Sunggyu dropped his gaze. They probably heard it before, from Karem or the others. The officer didn’t even write it down. “What about his voice?”

Sunggyu gulped and then cleared his throat. He was still finding it hard to breathe, and talking about this only brought back the memory of it. He was living through it again. “He didn’t say anything. Not a word,” Sunggyu spoke. His voice was ravaged by all of the shouting earlier. What was left of it was nothing but a shadow, thin and bleak. But with all of that shouting on his part, the attacker never spoke, never reacted. _Does he even know how to talk? Is he even human?_

The policeman sighed. “He never does,” he grumbled.

The interview ended with only those few questions. They didn’t want to push him, and Sunggyu needed to be checked and cleared by the medic. The discussion ended with a promise that Sunggyu would visit the police station the following day. “Maybe you’ll remember more then, after some rest,” the officer said while the medic came over to check his vitals. “You never know.” Sunggyu knew. He knew that he already told them all that he could, that recounting the events tomorrow would bring back today’s pain, but he also knew that it was necessary. And unfortunately, he also knew that tomorrow he’d have to tell strangers the reason behind the attack. His stomach twisted at the thought of it.

But then again, perhaps they already knew. “We’re going to interview your _friend_ now, okay?” the officer spoke that word coyly as if to imply something. “We’re still going to be around, okay? Watching you. We have this place surrounded. You’re okay. You’re safe now.” While the officer spoke, Sunggyu kept nodding until the medic told him to keep his head still so that she could examine his eye. “You’re lucky that kid came just in time.”

“I know,” Sunggyu murmured. Having the friends that he did was the only reason why he felt fortunate right now. Sunggyu’s eyes began brimming with tears again.

“Oh! Did that hurt?” the medic asked as she pulled her hands away from his face.

“No,” Sunggyu mouthed more than spoke. “I’m fine.”

* * *

Dawn was breaking now, and Sunggyu was still outside. The police were processing the scene thoroughly, and Sunggyu took it as an opportunity to leave. He didn’t get far, just a playground near his place, but it was far enough to not be able to see his street. The only reminder of the attack (other than his injuries, which included a swollen black eye and a sprained ankle, luckily the worst of it) was the police car a few meters away, keeping watch over him, over them. Woohyun and Sungyeol were still with him too. Woohyun was on the swing next to Sunggyu, but unlike Sunggyu, he was actually swinging back and forth. Sungyeol was on the phone with Kate. Apparently he was at her place when Woohyun called him.

“Really? At 2 am?” Woohyun pointed out.

“Eung,” Sungyeol answered casually. “We were playing board games and lost track of time.” The other two scoffed at him, not believing a word. “Whatever, you two stay here while I call her back. _Don’t_ run off,” he warned them.

“Where’d we go?” Woohyun yelled after Sungyeol as he walked away. Sungyeol ignored him, so Woohyun turned to Sunggyu. “I really don’t get him. We have nowhere to go.”

Sunggyu sighed. “Yea, I don’t.”

Woohyun dug his heels into the ground and skidded to a stop. “I didn’t mean it like that,” he told the other. Sunggyu kept his eyes on the ground, but he could sense the other’s glare. “You’ll _always_ have somewhere to go. Sunggyu...”

The elder sighed, knowing what the other wanted. He slowly raised his head and met Woohyun’s gaze after pulling back his hood. “What?”

“Trust me. Believe in me, okay?”

“I…” Sunggyu’s voice dropped as he averted his eyes, looking at the horizon, seeing the orange sun peaking over the buildings. A new day. A new beginning. “I think I…”

“Just text me the list!” Sungyeol barked. The other two jumped and swung their head towards Sungyeol, who seemed to immediately regret yelling at his girlfriend. He pinched the space between his tired eyes. “I can’t...I can’t keep track of it all now,” he defended himself. “So just text me, please? Alright. See you soon,” he said as he hung up the phone. Sungyeol then spun around and was slightly startled to see his two friends staring straight back at him. But he soon shook off the feeling and gestured at Sunggyu. “Hyung, you’re staying with Kate now.” Sunggyu opened his mouth, but Sungyeol shut him down with a raise of his hand. “No, no. It’s settled. You’re staying with her, and I’m going to go get your things now. Kate’s got a whole list of things you need. Woohyun, you stay with hyung, okay?”

“Will do!” Woohyun responded as if he was accepting a command from a superior officer.

“Give me your key, hyung,” Sungyeol commanded, putting his hand out.

“No,” Sunggyu whined, shaking his head. “Why can’t _you_ stay with me?” he asked.

“Huh?”

“He’s taller and more intimidating,” Sunggyu explained to Woohyun, who appeared utterly offended right now.

Woohyun gripped the ropes to the swings so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. “Then why did you call me instead of him?” he argued.

“I wasn’t thinking straight,” Sunggyu retorted. His eyes fervently darted between them. “Can’t you both stay? Please?” he begged.

Sungyeol walked over to the eldest and crouched down next to him, patting his head as if Sunggyu was a small child. “I’ll be back, hyung, real soon. Okay?” he promised.

“Fine,” Sunggyu grumbled and batted away the other’s hand, pushing him away. He’d been through a lot tonight, but nothing that warranted to be treated like a child.  “But hurry, okay? This little thing doesn't make for a good shield!” he raised his voice and pointed with his thumb to the man next to him.

“Me? Are you seriously talking about me?” Woohyun objected. Sunggyu turned towards him and nodded. Woohyun scoffed. “That's something to say to the man who rescued you.”

“Sungyeol rescued us,” Sunggyu corrected him. He craned his neck to look back at his friend, but Sungyeol already left. _Where did he go? My key! The damn kid must’ve pickpocketed me._

“Can you give me a little credit? Just a little? Come on. Look at this,” Woohyun urged him, tapping at Sunggyu’s shoulder with the back of his hand until the elder faced him again. That’s when Sunggyu finally noticed that he wasn’t the only one with injuries. With his one good eye, he could see that Woohyun’s lip was swollen and split, right where his finger was hovering. Woohyun then pouted, further exaggerating his injury. “I have this because of you.”

Sunggyu’s gaze lingered on that cut. _Did I give that to him or did he…does it matter? He wouldn’t have gotten hurt at all if it weren’t for me, if only_ …Woohyun was nudging him again, trying to snap the other out of it. Sunggyu raised his eyes to the other’s. _I just hope he doesn’t regret it_. Woohyun then smiled and cupped the other’s shoulder, not caring if it cracked his scab, made him bleed again. Sunggyu smiled, but only for a second. “Without you, I'd probably be dead,” his voice like a whisper even though he was talking with all of his strength.

Woohyun’s grip tightened. “Don't say that,” he responded as his smile faltered.

“Dead or near dead. Just like Jinyoung,” Sunggyu didn’t stop. Woohyun finally let the smile fall completely. “We both know that's true.”

“Still,” Woohyun’s tone was a bit short. “Don’t say that, please,” he stretched out the last word. And Sunggyu followed his wish, pursing his lips and holding back the rest of his words. I just ruined the mood. He looked down at his hands, which were covered in scrapes, even at the fingertips. Woohyun must’ve followed his gaze. “How’s your injuries? They checked them, right?” he asked.

“Eung, and they wrapped my ankle,” Sunggyu answered, pulling up his pant leg and showing off his bandages. “That’s it.”

Woohyun clapped the other’s shoulder once before jumping to his feet. “Let’s go,” he exhorted Sunggyu.

But the other was baffled and stayed where he was. “Where?”

“It get you ointment and stuff,” Woohyun revealed.

“I can’t move,” Sunggyu replied, gripping onto the ropes of the swing.

“You can, and I’m not leaving you behind,” Woohyun reasoned. He then put his hands over the other’s and pried them from the swing, pulling the other up once he did. “Come on,” he urged Sunggyu with a groan. Sunggyu eventually got up and leaned against the other for support. “It’s just right over there.” Woohyun nodded over down the block.

“Fine,” Sunggyu mumbled as they began to hobble over with the other’s help. As they were walking, the police car slowly crept behind them, and they tried their best to ignore it, although it was awkward. But there was something else that Sunggyu noticed on their walk over to the shop. “Ah! Hold up,” he told the other as they were passing by a black bag discarded on the ground. “That’s mine!” Sunggyu slowly and wobbly bent down to pick up his bag of beer. When he pulled himself back up, Woohyun was staring at him in disbelief, eyebrow arched high. “What? I bet that they’re still good. I paid good money for these,” he argued.

“Whatever you say,” Woohyun muttered. “Let’s keep going.”

When they finally reached the store, Woohyun had Sunggyu sit by the door while he went to go shop. All he could do was twiddle his thumbs as the other searched. Truth be told, the medic already cleaned his injuries, but there was nothing wrong with picking up some ointment and bandages for later. There was nothing wrong with being taken care of. Sunggyu raised his head and caught Woohyun glancing over the shelf at him. The elder smiled and Woohyun grinned right back before going back to his shopping. Besides what else were the both of them going to do while Sungyeol was getting his things?

“I’m still here. Don’t worry,” Sunggyu teased the other after he caught Woohyun glancing over at him again.

“I know,” Woohyun sounded slightly irritated as he walked out of the shelves and towards the register. “I’m almost done.”

“Wait,” Sunggyu tried to stop him and to get up. “I should buy it. It’s for me,” he reasoned.

Woohyun waved his hand, gesturing at the other to sit back down. “No. I’ll do it. You wait there,” he insited.

And Sunggyu let him. “Well, if you’re buying…” his voice drifted off, trying to sound as cute as one could with a tendril of a voice left. He craned his neck, looking at the shelf of snacks, licking his lips. “I’m a little hungry. Can I also have...”

“I’m not made of money!” Woohyun cut him off as he handed the card over to the cashier. “This is good for now,” he told her, and the girl just sniggered at the both of them. “Have a nice night,” he wished her with that smile Sunggyu used to hate, fangs flashing. But now Sunggyu just scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Sunggyu, are you ready?” Woohyun asked as he put the bag into one hand and extended the other to Sunggyu.

“Eung,” the elder hummed, grabbing the hand and pulling himself up with it. He then placed his hand on the other’s shoulder. “Let’s get going.” And they left the store.

The two of them didn’t go back to sit at the swings again, but they were on a bench outside of the playground. Sunggyu had taken the ointment out of the bag and squirted some on his finger. With another finger, he searched on his chin for the cut that he knew was there. But it was difficult.

Woohyun retched. “I can’t watch this anymore,” he complained and then put out his hand. “Give it to me.”

“No, I can…” Sunggyu started but then he remembered. _I won’t think less of you…Trust me_. He was going to start. He handed the tube over to Woohyun. “Here.”

“Okay,” Woohyun spoke in a hushed voice and took the tube. He put some on his finger and began dabbing Sunggyu’s cheek with it, right below his swollen eye. Sunggyu inhaled sharply through his teeth and jolted away. “Don’t move,” Woohyun chided him.

“It stings,” Sunggyu whined.

“Of course it does!” Woohyun retorted. He then cupped Sunggyu’s chin, trying to get him to stay still. “Now stop being a baby and be still. It’ll only take me longer if you keep moving,” he reminded him. So Sunggyu listened, and stayed still. He stayed still even when Woohyun tilted his chin, forcing him to look up. The sky was fading into blue now. What time is it? He wondered. And he almost asked the other because it was so quiet, so awkward. But because it was so awkward, Sunggyu couldn’t say anything. So he stayed still, stayed silent. Then Woohyun stopped. He must’ve felt just as awkward because he cleared his throat, signaling for the other to lower his head again. “Here. All done,” he murmured, tossing the tube at Sunggyu.

Sunggyu fumbled with it, but he eventually caught it. And when he did, he uncapped it again and squirted some onto his finger. He then raised it to show the other. “Let me…”

Woohyun got what he was asking. “Okay,” he gave in easily and squirmed in his seat, scooting closer to Sunggyu and jutting out his face.

Sunggyu let out a short chuckle. “You’re enjoying this too much,” Sunggyu teased as he applied the ointment to the corner of Woohyun’s mouth.

“I should,” Woohyun talked even though Sunggyu was trying in earnest to apply the ointment on his mouth. “This is probably the only reward from you for saving you that I’m going to get.”

“Punk,” Sunggyu swore with a smile as he lowered his hand and capped the ointment. He then threw the tube into the bag at their feet. That was when he noticed the other bag. He bent it over to pick it up and offered it to Woohyun. “You can have this too.”

“Yay, beer that you dropped on the ground and that’s probably ruined,” Woohyun responded in a dry voice but went to accept it anyway. When Sunggyu tried to take it back, thinking that it truly was a paltry gift, Woohyun lunged forward, grabbing for the bag.  “No, I want it,” he whined, tearing it from the other’s grasp.

Sunggyu snorted. “Thanks for coming, Woohyun,” he said as he watched Woohyun dig through the bag.

“You’re welcome,” Woohyun responded with a smile and then popped the tab on the beer. And it exploded, foam spilling all over Woohyun and onto the ground. “Shit!” he cursed and then tried to drink as much as the foam as he possibly could before it made a bigger mess.

Sunggyu laughed, a lot, at Woohyun. His weak voice just came out in wheezing puffs and he was sure that he reopened some of his cuts from smiling so hard. It hurt, oh god, it hurt. But it also felt so good. It was the best remedy for his weary soul. Sunggyu leaned forward, closer to the other, still riding the wave of laughter, which only swelled when Woohyun look at him like that, so confused. _Gosh, why is he so._..

“What’s going on here?”

Sungyeol was back now, holding a large duffle bag of Sunggyu’s, filled to the hilt. He then saw the can in Woohyun’s hands. “Oh beer!” he exclaimed and made a move for the beer left in the bag.

“Bad beer,” Sunggyu warned him as he slapped Sungyeol’s hand away. “Don’t drink it.”  
“ _My_ bad beer,” Woohyun corrected him, pulling the bag up and clutching it at his chest. “Don’t take it,” he warned his friend, glaring all the while.

“Okay okay, I won’t,” Sungyeol muttered as he backed away with his hands in the air until Woohyun’s glare dropped. He then faced Sunggyu. “So you ready to go? I got you all packed,” he announced and patted the duffle bag at his side.

Sunggyu stared at the bag again. It wasn’t just full. It was stuffed. Several things were crammed in there and fighting to get out of the bag. “What the hell is in there?” he asked.

With a groan, Sungyeol set it down and it landed on the ground with a thud. How heavy was that thing. “Everything on Kate’s list,” Sungyeol answered while he unzipped the bag. “She’s thorough.”

Sunggyu peered into the bag and spotted a familiar red lidded box, accompanied by a sour smell. “Seriously? The kimchi my mom sent?!” he exclaimed in disbelief. But then he saw a few apples next to it and a banana. “Wait, is this all the food from my fridge?”

“She’s thorough and low on food,” Sungyeol amended as he zipped the bag back up, but not without a struggle. He then hefted it back onto his shoulder. “Come on, let’s go,” he told the other, panting slightly.

Sunggyu moved to get up. “Hold on,” Woohyun muttered as he helped the elder up and stood up along with him. But when they were both standing, Woohyun still wasn’t done with him yet. “Bye Sunggyu.” He wrapped his arms lightly around the other, trying his best not to apply too much pressure; his arms just barely touched Sunggyu’s sides. The hug felt so different from the one they shared earlier that night, but there was something that was similar. The only weight Woohyun was willing to bear down on him was his own head on Sunggyu’s shoulder, his nose tickling at Sunggyu’s neck.

It wasn’t a smile on Sunggyu’s face, but it wasn’t straight either, wasn’t unaffected (using Woohyun’s own words). He patted the other’s back with his free hand. “Bye,” he whispered as he pulled away from the younger. Sunggyu then turned to Sungyeol, who was staring at the both of them with a grin on his face but confusion in his eyes. “Let’s go.”

“Alright. I’ll take you home.”

* * *

They had taken the police car to Kate’s place, and it was a short ride too. Kate didn’t live far from the scene of the crime, but it was just far enough, outside of the neighborhood. And when Sunggyu was at her door, she hovered in the doorway, lifting her arms up a few times, reaching for him, but putting them back down. _This girl._ Sunggyu made the decision easy for her and opened up his arms. “Come on, just give me a hug,” he grumbled. And they did. It was awkward. The two of them rarely hugged, but the occasion called for it. So they endured it for a few seconds and then came inside.

Once inside, Sunggyu noticed that her apartment was tidy at all. In fact it was quite a mess. Kate followed his wandering eyes and hastened to tidy things up, including the Blue Marble board game that had been abandoned midplay. _So they really were just playing games._

“You knew I was coming. What were you doing if you didn’t clean?” Sunggyu teased her as he sat down on her couch.

“I called our parents,” she answered curtly as she put the game back in the cupboard. Sunggyu’s heart stopped at that thought. Kate stood up and faced him. “I told them what happened. I told them you’d call when you had the chance.” She then walked over towards the kitchen. “And I made mandu.”

“What?”

Kate walked back out and stood in front of him. “I just didn’t know what else to do,” she replied, wringing her hands. She looked extremely anxious, which was probably why she began fussing with the cushions next to Sunggyu. “Sunggyu, you...I didn’t know. And it was taking so long. I didn't hear anything for so long. I had all of the things to make them,” she muttered under her breath. When she was done and deemed  the cushions properly fluffed, she looked over at her friend. That’s when Sunggyu noticed how pink her eyes were, how puffy. “They're done if you want them, so...do you?”

“Yea,” he mouthed.

But that was enough for Kate. “Okay,” she chirped with a grin and walked back into the kitchen. “Oh! You should probably call them now,” she yelled from the other room.

“Okay,” Sunggyu spoke for as loud as he could. He then pulled out his phone, rubbing his thumb across the screen. _I don’t wanna_ , he let out a whimper at that thought. It was the last thing he wanted to do, call his parents. But, Sunggyu glanced back at the kitchen, watching Kate put food on a plate and wipe her cheeks with the back of her hand. He sighed and dropped his eyes to his phone. _They’d be in worse shape than her_. So Sunggyu made the call.

“Mom? Yea, It’s me. I’m alive. No, no. Don’t cry.”

* * *

Without meaning to, Sunggyu slept away all of Tuesday. He woke up intermittently though, just enough to see the day passing by and him not caring. He’d close his eyes again and fall back asleep. But he saw the empty futon next to the bed and knew Kate had snuck out to go to class. He saw her placing a cup of water and snacks on the nightstand, saw Sungyeol stare and felt him poke at him. But Sunggyu kept sleeping. He was literally too tired to care.

Sadly, all of this sleeping meant that he was wide awake for a few hours in the middle of the night, as Tuesday was turning into Thursday. He sat in the bed and watched Kate sleeping on the futon next to him, wondering if he should wake her up. He didn’t want to talk. He just didn’t want to be the only one awake right now. He decided against it for that reason. Kate would want to talk. She would want to know how he was faring, how he was feeling. And he wasn’t ready to share that yet. He still hadn’t processed everything yet. He didn’t want to.

When he went to the bathroom, he thought about taking a shower, but he didn’t feel like it. He then went into the kitchen and thought about eating. He didn’t really want to do that either. He sat in front of the television and thought about turning it on. No, he didn’t want to. All he truly wanted to do was sleep. Sleep this all away. So he went back into bed and tried to do just that.

* * *

Sadly, he had to wake up. He had to go to the police station too and finish his account. It was what little Sunggyu could do to defeat the monster out in the streets (and the ones creeping in the back of his mind too). But before he left the apartment, Kate stopped him. She told him to wait as she rushed off into her bedroom. A few minutes later, she came back with a small white bottle with a golden cross on it. _You have to be kidding_ …“Hey!” he yelped as Kate sprinkled some water from the bottle onto his head. But she didn’t stop. She flicked some more of the water onto his chest and then onto his left shoulder. Sunggyu put his hand up. “Stop!” he shouted. “How many times are you going to do that?”

Kate smiled cheekily. “One more,” she said and flicked some water onto his other shoulder. “ _Now_ I’m done,” she announced as she screwed the cap back onto the bottle of Holy Water.

“Why do you even have that?” Sunggyu asked.

“My mom gave it to me when I first moved here. You never know when you might need it,” Kate explained as she went to place the bottle on the counter nearby. Sunggyu rolled his eyes. Of course. Kate was superstitious and she’d inherited it from her family. Her mother was even worse than she was. This ‘blessing’ was probably going to be a part of his morning routine as long as he stayed her. _Or until all of this is over_.

Sunggyu then felt something pulling at his sweatshirt. He looked down to see Kate pulling some of the fabric away from his body. “She also got me this,” Kate said as she pulled something from her pocket. It was a small oval pin with a portrait of a man engraved into it. Sunggyu had seen it before, nearly everyday. Kate always had it pinned onto the strap of her bookbag. “Saint Christopher looks over travelers. She got this for me so that I could always get home safely, and now it’s your turn,” she told him and pierced the pin through his clothes, fastening it. When she was done, she patted it proudly. “Come home in one piece, okay?”

Sunggyu pulled his sweatshirt so that he could see the pin better. He then patted it back down. “Okay,” he murmured and then turned to leave.

“Wait!” Kate exclaimed. And he turned around. She held up her hands, clasped together, showing him. “First, we should…”

“Right,” Sunggyu muttered and followed her. He wasn’t raised Catholic like Kate was nor was he was nearly superstitious as she was. But he was still a Christian. He didn’t pray much anymore, but now was as good enough time to start again as any. Doing things like this, made the both of them feel like they were at least doing _some_ good, something to improve the situation.

 _God, please, please, let this all be over soon_.

* * *

He wasn’t at the police station for longer than two hours. Like Sunggyu had thought, there wasn’t much to add to the account that he gave at the scene. If anything, he remembered less. His brain only kept coming up with the same images, a black looming figure, doing nothing more than drawing in ragged breaths. Were attackers always this quiet? “Depends,” answered the police officer. “They tend to talk more if they are closer to the victim, but saying nothing at all is not very typical either. We’re dealing with a strange one.” Well, that was obvious, but it did little to comfort Sunggyu. He felt strange now too. He didn’t feel like himself.

When Sunggyu was at the station, he learned that Woohyun came in the say before. _What did he say?_ Sunggyu wondered. _What did he say about me?_

They couldn’t tell him, but they did offer Sunggyu a ride to school so that he could attend the rest of his classes. Sunggyu felt even stranger riding shotgun in the cop car. He twiddled with the pin on his sweatshirt during the ride. Would this thing actually work? Probably not, but it was just like the guitar the other day. It didn’t really do anything but make him feel better.

When he arrived at school, all eyes were on the man stepping outside of the cop car, on him. Luckily Sunggyu had sunglasses on in order to hide his black eye, but now to protect him from meeting other’s gazes. All he wanted to do was hide, but everything made him stand out. Even the fact that he was walking around on crutches.

Kate and Sungyeol found him soon enough, and he started to feel a bit more normal after that.

They ate lunch out that day as Sunggyu wasn’t really up for talking to everyone about it. Woohyun joined them too. With great hesitancy, the three of them breached the topic about his visit to the police station. He told them what happened. When he finished, which wasn’t long after he started, Sunggyu glanced over at Woohyun. Should I ask him about his visit? He opened his mouth about to speak, but then the man with whom he wanted to talk opened his big fat mouth.

“That’s right. Kate,” Woohyun then made the girl the center of attention. “Why weren’t _you_ there that night? I thought you’d beat me there.”

That was a good point. Sunggyu faced his old friend. It was something that was on the back of his mind for awhile. Why wasn’t she there? Why did she stay at home? “Yes, let’s _all_ rush off into uncertain doom. Someone has to stay behind to prepare your funerals,” she spoke with dry sarcasm and stuffed food into her mouth. Woohyun and Sungyeol groaned, rolling their eyes at her. Kate got the hint and quickly swallowed her food. “Sorry, it was a bad joke. Truth is...” she sighed and pointed at her boyfriend with her thumb. “This guy wouldn’t let me.”

“That’s right, I did!” Sungyeol boasted. “No! Stay here!” he tried to act out what he said that night, but then he laughed. “Or something like that. I can’t really remember what I said,” Sungyeol admitted. He looked over at Kate. “Honestly, I’m surprised you listened to me.”

“You should’ve seen his face,” she told the other two. “I’ve never seen Sungyeol so serious.”

“It _was_ serious,” Sungyeol reminded her. “But it’s all over now, right?” His attention was now on Sunggyu. “You’ve given your statement, so it’s all over right?”

Sunggyu hesitated. Was it? Was it really over? The guy was still out there. And this feeling still clung tightly to Sunggyu, suffocating him. While he was silent, Woohyun answered for him: “Right!” He put a hand on Sunggyu’s shoulder. “There’s nothing left to worry about.”

Sunggyu really wanted to believe that was true.

* * *

There was one thing left that Sunggyu wanted to do today and that was to go back to his apartment, in broad daylight, and to pick up Myungsoo’s guitar. Just like the pin on his chest, he felt safer with it around. And playing it helped to clear his mind from some of his worries. _Maybe that’s why Myungsoo was always playing it_ , Sunggyu mused.

And as strange as it was, Woohyun was a part of his plans too. He asked Woohyun to come with him after his shift at the library was over. Woohyun was confused, maybe a bit startled but agreed to do it nonetheless. It made sense to Sunggyu though. It _had_ to be Woohyun. First of all, Woohyun knew everything. Second, he wasn’t as overbearing as Kate and Sungyeol were being right now. Those two were coddling him, especially Kate, who kept asking Sunggyu if he wanted anything, if there was anything that she could do for him. Third, Woohyun was still kind of afraid of Sunggyu and he could easily shut up the younger with a nasty glare. Sungyeol and Kate had stopped being afraid of him a long time ago.

Sunggyu had used his glare when Woohyun made an off-handed comment about the weather or about someone on the bus, and now they were both walking up Sunggyu’s street in silence. At first Sunggyu let Woohyun walk ahead of him, but that didn’t feel right. His back was too exposed. So then Sunggyu walked in front of Woohyun, but then what if someone attacked from the front? No, that wasn’t any good either. Woohyun didn’t say anything but he did chuckle at Sunggyu and his changing pace. Eventually he put his arm on the other’s back and brought him to his side. Yea, this was probably best. Woohyun was light enough that Sunggyu could just throw him at any direction that the attacker would come from and he was easy to reach from here. Yes, Woohyun was the right choice. Sunggyu couldn’t toss around Sungyeol so easily.

While Sunggyu was immersed in his battle strategy, they arrived at his place. “This is it,” was the only thing that Woohyun had said for the last half an hour.

“What?” Sunggyu stammered as he scrambled to gather his bearings. And when he did, his heart stopped. There was someone on his stoop. By the looks of it, this guy was taller than Sunggyu just by a bit, and his hair, it was bleached blonde. As bright as it was a few nights ago peaking from underneath his black cap. Sunggyu pulled Woohyun in front of him. Before the other could ask him any questions, Sunggyu hissed into his ear, “Namu! That guy. Right over there. On the steps.”

“What about him?” Woohyun whispered right back, keeping his head forward.

“You don’t see it? The blonde hair! He’s about the same height too. It’s him!” Sunggyu growled lowly, gripping on Woohyun even more tightly. It was the attacker, in broad daylight. He was sure of it.

Woohyun wiggled a bit and faced Sunggyu, arching an eyebrow. “Him? Him!” he questioned. Sunggyu nodded. Woohyun scoffed and leaned in closer, whispering, “Sunggyu, even _you_ could beat him in a fight. Take another look at him. It’s not the guy.”

Sunggyu did take another look. The blonde guy sitting on the stairs was playing on his phone, and Sunggyu could barely see his arms from here, which meant that the guy barely had any arms. The guy was quiet skinny. It would be impressive if he could fight off anybody. “Yea. Yea, you’re probably right,” Sunggyu grumbled. He then moved his eyes towards Woohyun, narrowing them into a piercing glare. “Also I already did my service. I could beat _you_ in a fight,” he retorted.

“Whatever you say,” Woohyun let the subject drop, along with his arm that was onthe other. Sunggyu started to feel vulnerable again and subconsciously stepped closer to the other. But Woohyun stepped away and in front of the elder. “Let me talk to him,” he offered, gesturing back at the man on the steps. With that he ran up to the guy, not giving Sunggyu a chance to stop him. Not like Sunggyu would. Woohyun was doing a better job as being his shield than he’d imagined. “Hey! Do you live here?” Woohyun asked the stranger.

“Nope,” the stranger chirped as he put his phone back into his pocket. He then stood up and flashed an awkward but still bright smile. “I’m Lee Sungjong. My grandmother owns the building. I’m waiting for Kim Sunggyu.”

“You’re in luck. He’s right here,” Woohyun announced, pointing back at the man on crutches. And Sunggyu almost used those crutches to impale Woohyun. They didn’t even know who this person was or if he was telling the truth! How could they trust him?

“Oh! Sunggyu-ssi!” the supposed landlady’s grandson called to him. He then bent down to grab something that was laying next to him on the stairs. What was it? A weapon? Sunggyu stiffened, and clutched his crutches. That’s right. He had a weapon of sorts of his own. But then the blonde man stood back up and showed off his red tool box. “I brought the tools to fix your toilet. But I couldn’t get into your place,” he explained. “So I just waited for you.”

Did this kid not even know what happened a few nights ago? Wait, does the landlady? Should she? Sunggyu hobbled over to the stairs. “Ah yea. I changed the lock. Let me open it for you,” he offered. And then the three of them went up to his apartment.

* * *

“What happened in here?”

Sunggyu groaned when he saw what Sungjong was referring to. Several of Sunggyu’s drawers laid open. Other things were knocked over. The whole place looked ransacked, and it probably was, by Lee Sungyeol. “My friend made it a mess,” Sunggyu answered. “The bathroom is over there.”

“Oh, thank you,” Sungjong said with a bow and then entered the bathroom.

Sunggyu winced while he slowly descended onto his bed. “Ugh, I forgot about that maintenance request. I put that in like a month ago,” he murmured lowly to Woohyun who was leaning against the wall with his eyes on the bathroom.

“Another reason for you to move out of this place,” Woohyun remarked.

Sunggyu sighed. “Well, yea. I working on it,” he replied. “Where’s that guitar?” he mused while he scanned his messy room. Sunggyu couldn’t even remember where he placed it.

Woohyun was still facing the bathroom. “It’s Myungsoo’s guitar, isn’t it?”

“Eung.”

“Why do you have it?”

Sunggyu stirred in his spot. There was something in Woohyun’s voice that just seemed _off_. And he still was staring off into the bathroom, watching Sungjong work. Sunggyu looked into the bathroom too and saw Sungjong wipe his forehead with the back of his hand. His eyes then darted back to Woohyun. _Does he…like how he looks?_ Sunggyu shoved that thought aside. He still had a question to answer: “Myungsoo gave it to me before he left. He said that he didn’t need it.”

Woohyun finally turned towards him. Their eyes met. And it just felt cold, like how Woohyun _used_ to look at him. “And you brought it everywhere with you?” He lowered his eyes and licked his lips. “Do you really miss him that much?”

“What?” slipped out of Sunggyu’s mouth.

“Forget it,” Woohyun grumbled. He raised his head and was staring into the bathroom. “I’m going to go talk to Sungjong.”

“Huh?” Sunggyu muttered, but Woohyun was already in the other room. He watched his friend crouch down next to Sungjong and strike up a conversation. Soon the two of them were laughing, and the wolf was flashing his cunning grin. Sunggyu sighed. _He found his new prey, I suppose_. He tore his eyes away. _I need to find my guitar_.

* * *

Sungjong finished the repair in under an hour and Woohyun walked him out the door. Sunggyu was sure that the kid would’ve finished sooner, but Woohyun was _distracting_ him. But Sunggyu didn’t care (or at least that’s what he told himself). He was fine. He found the guitar, pulled it out, and was practicing while the other two had their fun. _Man, I still suck_.

“I see that you found Myungsoo’s guitar,” Woohyun remarked after he closed the door and locked it.

“Yup,” Sunggyu answered curtly, with his eyes still on the chords.

“So is it worth coming all the way out here to pick up?” Woohyun asked as he sat down next to the other.

“Eung,” Sunggyu hummed as he put the guitar down and began putting it away. He heard Woohyun grumble something below his breath but didn’t quite catch it. Sunggyu stopped packing up the guitar halfway and looked over at his friend. Woohyun’s head was bowed, looking at his folded hands in his lap. Sunggyu smirked and continued to stuff the guitar back into the case. “I like carrying it around because, well, it’s big. I could use it to protect myself if I needed to,” Sunggyu would normally be embarrassed to admit this to anyone but it came easily when he talked with Woohyun. “It’s silly, right?”

“No,” Woohyun quickly replied. “I’ve heard sillier things. We’re friends with Kate and Yeol, remember? Dongwoo too, and Hoya, and Inha, and Peanut…they all say silly things.”

Sunggyu snorted. “Are we friends with anyone normal?”

“You’re normal.”

Sunggyu sat back up straight and looked over at Woohyun. Normal, Sunggyu felt anything but. To hear that he was normal, that was really really nice. Sunggyu smiled. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome?” Woohyun was a bit confused about why he was being thanked. But he chose just to ignore it. “Let’s go back to Kate’s place.”

“Okay,” Sunggyu muttered as he slowly got back up.

“Oh and Sungjong is _definitely_ not the guy.”

“Huh?” Sunggyu fumbled with his crutches.

Woohyun smiled proudly. “Yea he was out of town that night, on some MT with his club. And from what he told me about it, it didn’t sound like he was lying. So he checks out. It wasn’t him,” he announced.

“That’s what you guys were talking about in there?” _You weren’t_ …

“Yea, that makes you feel better about it, right?” Woohyun was looking for praise and he helped the elder back onto his feet.

“Yea, it really does,” Sunggyu replied. Woohyun really was the right choice to bring along.

* * *

The rest of the week passed much like that, without incident, and with Sunggyu gradually feeling better. He even stopped wearing sunglasses so often. He wasn’t apprehensive to tell people that he got in a fight and got injured as a result of that. It was vague but still true. He also started venturing out more on his own. At first, it wasn’t far. He’d walk within in the sight of others, but now he was going on small excursions, like he used to, like a normal person would do. Now he was walking back from the bookstore nearby, and he stopped to get snacks from a food cart. He was splurging but after everything he’d been through, he deserved it. He was treating himself.

As Sunggyu sat down at the cart, he felt almost content, chewing on fish cakes almost without a care. Almost. He felt like they were eyes on his back. He didn’t bring the guitar with him because it was difficult to deal with that when his ankle was still sprained. But without it, Sunggyu always had a hard time of shaking off this feeling of being watched. However, today, that feeling intensified. And Sunggyu couldn’t will it away with reason. _No, it’s for real this time. I’m being watched._

Sunggyu quickly stood up and paid for his meal. As he handed the cash over to the ahjumma behind the cart, his eyes darted around, scanning the area. Why, why was there so many people with their hoods up? It wasn’t even cold out. And that girl, why was she staring at him? Was she an accomplice? Sunggyu wasn’t going to take any risks. He hurried down the street as quickly as his ankle would allow, which wasn’t very fast. He had to take a break, bracing his hand against the wall as he searched around for a place to go. Then he saw it, his sanctuary.

Sunggyu hurried across the street and ducked into the restaurant.

“Oh! You’re my son’s friend, right?” Sunggyu was spotted almost as soon as he got into the place by the owner.

Sunggyu nodded frantically but did his best to put a calm(ish) smile on his face. “Eung. Is he here?” but he couldn’t hide the desperation in his voice.

The owner raised an eyebrow curiously, looking much like her son. “He got home a few minutes ago,” she revealed. But then both of her brows flew up her face. “Oh, here he is. Namu-yah!” he called her son over to them. Sunggyu stood still, facing the mother. He couldn’t look up at Woohyun. Part of him was embarrassed for coming into the shop, but…but that feeling, it clung to him. He didn’t know how else to shake it off.

“Sunggyu, what are you doing here?” Woohyun probably looked as confused as he sounded, but Sunggyu still didn’t lift his gaze from the floor. “I need help catching up on homework,” Sunggyu lied.

Woohyun must’ve thought that Sunggyu was telling the truth. “Okay, we can go over it.” He then turned to his mom. “Mom, I’ll be back to help later.”

The last thing Sunggyu saw of the owner was her warm smile. _Just like_...”It’s okay. Help your friend out,” Woohyun’s mother told him. “Go have fun.”

Woohyun snorted. “Yea right,” he replied to her. He then led Sunggyu out of their shop. “Let’s go to my house, where it’s quieter. Is that okay?” he asked. Sunggyu finally glanced over, for just a second. Once Woohyun tried to catch his gaze, it was already too late. Sunggyu’s eyes were darting all over, assessing the street. Was it safe? Was anyone looking? There didn’t appear to be but Sunggyu wasn’t about to take any chances.

“Eung. Let’s go. Quick,” Sunggyu muttered quickly as he sped past Woohyun, even with his injury. Probably because Woohyun was slightly stunned by Sunggyu’s erratic behavior. But Sunggyu didn’t have time to be concerned about that. He needed to get somewhere safe _now_. Because of his haste, Sunggyu reached the door first. And to his horror, it was locked. Sunggyu jiggled the doorknob impatiently. “Open it. Open it! Hurry!”

“I can’t unlock it if you keep doing that,” Woohyun remarked and put the back of his hand up to Sunggyu’s chest, pushing him away gently. He wedged himself between Sunggyu and the door, fumbling with the keys.

“Hurry!” Sunggyu hissed. His heart was beating way to fast, his breath getting shorter. Everything seemed to be closing in.

“Sunggyu! Just..” Woohyun turned to yell at the other, but he bit it back and lowered his voice. “Just give me a minute. I can’t concentrate. Aish, why is this so hard? Damn door,” he swore lowly. But he eventually got it open, by holding the key with two hands as he unlocked it. While he was struggling with the door, Sunggyu’s head was on a swivel. He didn’t even know that the door was open until Woohyun told him, “Get in.” And Sunggyu was more than glad to do so. He let out a sigh of relief when he heard the door click closed and felt Woohyun at his back. _Good. We’re safe_.

“This isn’t about homework, is it?” Woohyun challenged him as he walked around the other in order to stand in front of him. “D-did you see him?” his voice quivered. “Is he here? Was he here? Should we call the police?”

“No,” Sunggyu answered firmly, and he saw Woohyun practically deflate, becoming a few centimeters smaller. “I just felt like I was being watched. And…and I didn’t want to take any chances.”

Woohyun nodded with his lips tucked inside his mouth. “Good plan,” he praised. “You can stay as long as you need to. You’re safe here.”

“Thanks,” Sunggyu replied, his voice still tense. His whole body was tense, the back of his neck prickling. Sunggyu’s gaze rolled around. Why didn’t he feel safe yet? “Woohyun-ah?”

“Hm?” the other hummed.

“Do you have a room without any windows?”

* * *

“You don’t have to be in here with me.”

Woohyun looked up from the comic book that he was flipping through. He raised an eyebrow and snorted. His foot knocked against Sunggyu’s thigh, probably by accident. Both of them were leaning against opposite walls in Woohyun’s second story bathroom. It was cramped. It was hot. It smelled bad. But Sunggyu felt like he could finally breathe again, hiding from prying eyes, and hiding behind the toilet. “No offense, but I don’t think you’re in any condition to be by yourself right now,” Woohyun remarked. He then licked the tips of his fingers and turned to a new page in his old comic book. Woohyun must’ve read that thing so many times. It was ragged and dog-eared. He gave Sunggyu the other volumes to read too. But all Sunggyu wanted to do with his eyes was to close him. He felt so tired, so drained, exhausted from living everyday like this, with fear driving him to the point of hiding behind toilets in other people’s bathrooms. _This…this wasn’t how I wanted to come over to his house._ The elder closed his eyes, resting the back of his head against the cool tile. _Can’t I ever wake up from this dream? Can’t things be normal again? I just want to be normal_.

“Do you want to stay the night?”

“Huh?” Sunggyu muttered. His eyes snapped wide open. Woohyun repeated his offer, stone-faced. “What about your parents?”

“They know.”

“What?!” Sunggyu exclaimed.

“What was I supposed to say when their precious son came home early in the morning battered and bruised?” Woohyun spoke with a tenuous smile. “And then I had to go to the cops the next day. I had to tell them why. I had to tell them. They’re my parents,” he defended himself. “It’s not a problem, is it?” That smile shook.

“It’s not,” Sunggyu assured him. “I told mine. They’re even coming up soon to see me.”

“Good, that’s good,” Woohyun muttered, as he played with the edges of the old book. “So…” he drawled out but said no more.

“So?” Sunggyu pushed him to complete his thought.

“Do you want to stay or not?” Woohyun seemed irritated for having to ask more than once.

“Oh right,” Sunggyu murmured. He then met the other’s gaze, held it. The other’s gaze was steady but his fingers were still flicking at the pages of the book. “Eung,” Sunggyu finally answered with a small nod.

“Okay,” Woohyun mouthed more than spoke and then broke out into a genuine smile. “Yea. So you want me to bring a futon into here or…” he joked.

“Okay okay, I’m getting out,” Sunggyu grumbled under his breath, struggling to get back up onto his feet. Woohyun helped, pulling him up.

“Don’t worry. I’m right here,” Sunggyu didn’t know if the other was being cheeky or serious when he said that. And he didn’t know why Woohyun’s hands were still on him when he was standing up straight, or why his heart started beating faster when he was safer than he’d been all day.

Screw it, those were all lies. Sunggyu knew very well why his body was reacting like that (although he still didn’t understand Woohyun…fully). And Sunggyu was tired, exhausted by everything, including being in denial about this. Since Woohyun was so close, Sunggyu took advantage of it and wrapped his arms around the younger, drawing him in close. Woohyun let out a surprised ‘oomph’ when their bodies met, but the shock didn’t last long. Woohyun’s arms circled around the elder loosely, one hand patting his back, his chin hooking over the other’s shoulder. Sunggyu squeezed him. “Thank you, Namu. I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through all of this without you,” he was honest with Woohyun, and exposed, incredibly exposed with him at a time when Sunggyu couldn’t really bear the stares of others.

And that’s why it hurt, deeply, when Woohyun squirmed out of Sunggyu’s arms as if he were hot, with his eyes on the floor. “Let’s get you set up,” he said before leaving the bathroom. “Oh! And I’ll call Kate and tell her that you’re staying here,” Sunggyu heard his voice drift further and further away and Woohyun’s small feet patter down the stairs.

Woohyun ran away. _From me_ , Sunggyu thought. _But I thought…did I misread everything? Where did I go wrong?_ Sunggyu groaned and then went to leave the bathroom himself. But before he did, he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror, the still swollen but healing black eye, the mussed hair, the dark circles which made him look more beaten than he had been, his deep frown. “Scary,” he muttered to his reflection. He then drew his hood over his head. “I’d run away from me too, if I could.”

* * *

Woohyun came back up much later with blankets and something else. “What’s up with your eyes?” Sunggyu pointed out from the other’s bed. He made himself at home in Woohyun’s room while the other was away. In fact he was on the brink of falling asleep when Woohyun barged back in, with pink eyes.

“Allergies,” was the younger’s excuse. “The blankets are dusty.” Woohyun then looked about the room. “So where do you want to sleep?” Sunggyu wordlessly patted the bed and when he was done, he tucked his arms behind his head, showing off how comfortable he was there. Woohyun’s jaw dropped. “You want me to sleep on the floor? In my own home?” he challenged.

“Kate lets me sleep in her bed,” Sunggyu mentioned as he pulled at his hoodie strings (and maybe he was pushing his luck too).

“Do I look like as much of a pushover as she is?” Woohyun retorted.

“Do you really want me to answer that?” Sunggyu combatted with a short laugh.

“No,” Woohyun muttered back, gripping onto the blankets tightly.

“Besides I’m injured. I need my ankle to be raised off the ground. And you just said the blankets are dusty. I only have one good eye now…”

“I get it!” Woohyun cut him off. He then stomped over next to the bed and crouched down in order to lay down the blankets. “I get the floor.” Once he put them down, Woohyun put his arms over the edge of the bed and propped his head on them. “You’re lucky that I’m such a nice guy, you know.”

Sunggyu turned his eyes away from the younger and onto the ceiling. “Yea, you’re _really_ nice.”

The elder could practically hear Woohyun pouting through his voice, “Well, that didn’t sound sarcastic at all.”

Sunggyu sighed and rolled his head back down to the side, staring at Woohyun. Sad thing was, Sunggyu had meant it, even sadder that Woohyun didn’t believe him. Sunggyu looked away and sat up, rubbing his stomach. “Do you have any food?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Eung,” Woohyun grunted and stood up. “I bring you into my home and you steal my bed and my food,” he grumbled as he made his way out of the room. “I’m practically a saint.”

Sunggyu sat at the edge of the bed for a few seconds before following Woohyun downstairs. _You seriously have no idea_.

* * *

Fortunately, the two of them ate at the restaurant with Woohyun’s parents, which meant Sunggyu ate a lot (more than he should) and he didn’t have to talk much to Woohyun (Sunggyu was still a like sore with him). It was nice to eat like this, like a family. It was healing to have a mother prepare and feed him a lettuce wrap and a father to joke with. It was so nice that Sunggyu thought about stealing Woohyun’s parents too.

But the nice meal came to an end and the both of them slowly got ready for bed. In silence, of course. And unlike before, Sunggyu didn’t enjoy the silence as much. He opened this mouth to talk several times, but no words ever came. But as they both laid down, with the lights off and the lights from the street filtering in through the window, one of them finally spoke.

“Sunggyu?”

The elder rolled onto his side, inched closer to the edge of the bed, and peered down at the other, curled underneath the blankets with his back turned to Sunggyu. “Hm?” even now Sunggyu couldn’t manage to form a word.

“I’m glad.”

Sunggyu licked his lips before his voice croaked out a “Why?”

“Because…you’re safe…and because you feel safe here. I’m glad,” Woohyun whispered.

“O-oh,” Sunggyu muttered, not sure of what to make of all of that. So he just responded with, “Good night, Woohyun-ah.”

“Night, Gyu.”

* * *

The morning was just as awkward as the night before, especially since Woohyun had left before him, while Sunggyu was still asleep. Woohyun’s mother had prepared breakfast for him and sent him on his way. _She must pity me_ , Sunggyu thought as he waved goodbye to her. She had no reason to treat him so nicely and it wasn’t until recently when he and Woohyun started to have a good relationship with each other. _Plus because of me, her son was hurt_. Sunggyu sighed. _She must feel really bad for me_. And he couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not.

_Is that the only reason why Woohyun is so nice to me too?_

Sunggyu tried to push that doubt into the deep recesses of his mind as he made his way onto campus, which became easier and easier as other thoughts jumped to the forefront. He nervously twisted the pin that was still on his sweatshirt. _Dear God, can you hear me?_

When he arrived on campus, Sunggyu had over an hour until his next class started, so he went to the library. Sunggyu hadn’t been lying when he said that he was behind on work. He found it hard to concentrate lately. And this morning, he found himself facing the same problem. He’d been staring at this open page of his book for 15 minutes, absorbing nothing. Maybe it was time to try a different subject. Sunggyu got up and tried to find his textbook for another class on the shelves. As he searched through the stacks, Sunggyu didn’t find his textbook but he found something else, standing at the end of the aisle with a black cap pulled down low but his long blonde strands still peaked through. Sunggyu gulped.

 _It’s him_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter didn't really end up being the pick-me-up that I intended for it to be, but I'm still following the drama(ish). A lot of scary things happened to the main character of CiT, and in my take, I tried to show the impact of those scary things a bit more. I hope it worked and wasn't annoying.
> 
> Also, I finally put Sungjong in the fic. Hey, look at that! OT7 :D
> 
> I'm sorry...


	9. Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu Mandu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A king mandu sized chapter! Filled with excitement! Tears! And way too many words!

_It’s him_.

 _Just ignore him_ , Sunggyu concluded. He turned his attention back to the shelf, shutting his eyes tightly as he yawned. _It’s not really him. It can’t be_. _I'm just dreaming,_ Sunggyu reasoned and pulled off a book once his eyes were open again. He opened it up and his fingers worked through it. The sound of the pages flipping calmed him down even though he wasn’t looking for anything in particular in the book. It was a familiar sound though, grounding himself in reality. But he’d feel more comfortable now if he had something more than just a book in his hands, like the guitar or his crutches, both of which were at Kate’s place. Sunggyu winced prematurely at the thought of using his bum ankle (with only a brace to support it) to run. But maybe he wouldn't have to. Sunggyu closed his eyes again and concentrated on the sound of the pages rustling against each other and the feel of paper in his hands. He took in a deep breath, trying to find his reason again. _He can’t be here. Why would he be? It’s daytime._ Sunggyu lifted his eyes, peering through the shelves. He caught a glimpse of someone on the other side. _And there are people around. It’d be too risky, even for him._

Sunggyu snapped the book closed and clutched it in his hands, as he hazarded a glance over towards the end of the aisle. “Ah,” he gasped softly, fumbling with the book in his hand. He’d nearly dropped it when he noticed that the man in black had crept up on him unawares. They were nearly standing side-by-side now. _Shit! He’s actually here!_

One step, two step, Sunggyu backed away from the shelf and down the aisle the opposite way. His pace picked up as he hobbled along. He didn’t want to make it obvious that he was running away, or that he’d noticed the man. It didn’t seem like the attacker would make a move. He was just observing Sunggyu for now (and who knows for how long he had been, at least all morning). However, Sunggyu wasn’t about to put down of the hardbound book in his hands just in case things took a turn for the worse.

Also the faster that Sunggyu led the both of them out of the stacks and out into the main study area, the safer he’d be. Surely nothing would happen then. Sunggyu smirked, but it fell half a second later.

_Shit!_

Except for the fact that in his panic, Sunggyu had started walking the wrong way. Now he was walking deeper and deeper into the stacks. And he wasn’t exactly in the position to turn around and change directions. _I’d run into him and then...I don’t know_. _I don’t want to find out._ Sunggyu had to throw together a new plan. What now? His eyes zipped all around, searching. Then he saw red. _That’s it!_ There was an emergency exit, at the end of this aisle. Sunggyu stopped in his tracks. The corners of his mouth quirked up, when he caught sight of it. He then coughed and wiped his mouth, along with the small smile he had. Even that gave too much away.

Before Sunggyu started down the aisle, he continued coughing and glanced behind him, for the attacker. And that glance turned into a full on look. There was no one behind him. Sunggyu turned fully and squinted, scanning for any trace of the man. _Did he give up?_ He could hardly believe it, but that appeared to be the case. _Should I just go back now?_ Sunggyu started, taking a step forward, and stopped again. He spun around the other way. No one was down that way either. Sunggyu rubbed the back of his neck. _Was it all in my head?_

Even though the attacker was nowhere in sight, Sunggyu couldn’t shake off the feeling of his presence, which made his skin crawl. His fingers brushed against the goosebumps and raised hair on the back of his neck. When he removed his hand from his neck to push his bangs away from his face, it was damp with sweat. _No, I still need to get out of here_. He wouldn’t feel better until he out of this damned building. So Sunggyu was going to stick with the plan and leave through that exit. He took a step back and began to go down the aisle. _I’ll go out that door and then down the stairs. I’ll get out. But...what if the feeling doesn’t leave? What then?_ He could think of only one thing to do, only of one face. _Maybe that’ll help._

“So you _did_ notice me.”

Sunggyu stopped abruptly. His skin wasn’t crawling anymore; it was sprinting, breaking out in a sweat. A shiver wracked through his body. But his limbs were frozen, rigid. Yet he was able to break through it, craning his neck back to look behind him, bit by bit.

The man dressed in black was there, shoulders jostling up and down as he chuckled with a raspy voice. The bleach blonde hair hung limply down, covering his eyes. In the daylight, it looked strange, synthetic. _A wig._ The man pulled a book from off the shelf. One bigger and heavier than the one Sunggyu had.

Sunggyu whipped his head back around and tried to walk down the aisle again, but the man cut him off.

“Why are you pretending not to notice me, hm?” he asked and took a step closer. Sunggyu continued pretending. The man was trying to intimidate him. But he couldn’t if Sunggyu didn’t notice him. So Sunggyu turned towards the books, now acting as if he was looking for something (other than a reason for not making eye-contact). “Are you _that_ scared?” the attacker asked. _Yes,_ Sunggyu answered in his head and then grabbed another book, one that was bigger than his.

“Do you really think I'll just go away?” the man was hissing in his ears now. _Won’t you?_

“No,” the attacker raised his voice but it was still a whisper as to not attract attention. He began chuckling again, derisively. “Your sins, Kim Sunggyu, they’ll follow you into the afterlife and so will I. You can't run away.” He then shoved Sunggyu at his shoulder, trying to get the student to turn and face him. “Fornicating with men? Inappropriate relationship with a minor? And now worshipping false icons?” With every accusation, he shoved Sunggyu harder and harder, until Sunggyu did turn around, facing him. Sunggyu screwed his eyes, looking at the other. _False...icons?_ The attacker flicked at the pin on Sunggyu’s chest, the one of St. Christopher. That small pin had offended the man so much. The attacker sneered at it and tore it off. Sunggyu watched it clink onto the floor, wobbling before it settled, but instead of looking back at the man, seeming scared, Sunggyu just sighed and turned back to the shelves. When he did, the shelves suddenly shook. The attacker flung himself against them, trying to take Sunggyu off-guard and to catch his eyes. _Unfortunately for him, I have small eyes_ , Sunggyu smirked at that thought. “It's like you want to go to Hell. I’ll help,” so the man in black tried to get to Sunggyu with his growled words.

 _If I’m going there, I’m taking you with me. And I’m not the only one who’s afraid_ , Sunggyu wanted to spit back but he held it back on his tongue. The attacker had touched him, yes, roughed him up a little, but nothing more. His voice was doing the ‘hitting’ for now. If the criminal had a knife or anything of the sort, he would've pulled it out and used it on Sunggyu long before now. Why hadn't he? The criminal was too afraid of witnesses, even this far deep into the stacks. The library was still a crowded, albeit quite place. With one shout from Sunggyu, someone would come. Someone would come and see the criminal. Or the attacker would flee before that someone came. No, Sunggyu wouldn't even have to shout. Eventually, someone would come across the two of them, just by chance, and the attacker would probably leave for fear of rousing suspicious. Sunggyu’s smile broadened. For once, he actually felt safe.

“Smiling? Why?” the man hissed. Sunggyu’s smile cracked wider. He liked getting underneath the other’s skin for once. The attacker was obviously irritated. He couldn't attack nor could he get a rise out of Sunggyu. Now Sunggyu not only felt safe, but he felt like he had the upper hand. He felt powerful. _Maybe I can.._.that thought was cut off. “Oh, is it because your boyfriend is here?”

Sunggyu’s mouth snapped shut. _What?_ Sunggyu’s eyes wavered. _What is he talking about?_

“Woohyun!” Sunggyu finally spoke, in a low but agitated whisper, when he caught sight of the boy through the shelves. Woohyun was in the next aisle, pushing a cart and putting books back onto the shelves. And he jumped when he heard his name. His head was swinging back and forth, looking for the source of the sound. Hair swishing back and forth. But then Woohyun stopped when found Sunggyu’s eyes peering over the books. And Sunggyu watched his friends’ eyes grow from small, confused to wide with fright, when Woohyun’s gaze traveled over to the pair of eyes next to Sunggyu.

Which were only focused on Sunggyu. “So you _can_ hear me. Then why are you ignoring me?” the attacker growled. He shook the book shelf. Sunggyu stayed still, his gaze fixed on Woohyun who was now looking back at him. He was trembling. _Woohyun_ …“WHY?!” the attacked shouted again, ripping books off of the shelves, trying to get Sunggyu’s attention.

That shout made Woohyun snap up straight and regain his senses. “Sunggyu!”

And before Sunggyu could shout “Run!” Woohyun had already broken out into a sprint. Sunggyu did too. He threw the books behind him and took off.

There was only one way for Sunggyu to go: back the way he came, the opposite direction of the attacker and the exit. He nearly crashed into Woohyun at the end of the aisle. Woohyun was the one to dodge him, swerving himself and the cart to the side. And Sunggyu kept running forward, even though his ankle felt like breaking. He pushed himself, and pushed himself off of the walls to propel himself forward. There was another exit at the very end of the floor. He’d have to pass many, many more shelves and some study tables, which meant many many people would see him running crazily with a limp through the library. But that was exactly what he needed now, for people to see him.

There was a crash behind him. And Sunggyu kept moving forward. Not wasting the time to look behind him. Woohyun must've pushed the book cart into the guy, knocking the cart over (and hopefully the guy too). Seconds later, Woohyun was at his side. That wasn't good. If Woohyun could catch up to him easily, that man could too. Sunggyu tried to go faster, practically hopping forward. With every step, the pain grew. _I can't keep this up. I can't_ …

Woohyun quickly slithered under Sunggyu’s arm, wrapping it around his shoulder and holding onto his forearm. Honestly, it wasn't very helpful. They slowed down. But Sunggyu had a feeling that Woohyun was fully prepared to drag him away from the attacker if he needed to.

Like that, they passed the stacks and the study tables. Lord knows if anyone saw them. Their eyes were fixed on that door.

They reached it and stumbled down the stairs after nearly slipping down a step. It was good that they did. When Sunggyu grabbed the wall for support, he felt something else: a fire alarm. He pulled it. The alarm started blaring as they scrambled down the last steps and out of the door.

Right outside of the exit was a large bush, and they dove behind it. Well, Woohyun pushed Sunggyu into the bush and then he fell on top of him. He was in so much pain, but he couldn't be bothered with that now. They were both squatting behind the bush now. Woohyun was clinging to his back. And the both of them were looking the opposite direction of the door, with their eyes shut tightly. For a few seconds, they strained their ears, listening past the alarm. Sunggyu could only hear Woohyun’s heart thumping wildly (and his own even more so). But then the back door creaked open.

“Is there a fire? Why did the alarm go off?”

“I don't know. Beats me.”

“Ugh! I'm all wet now!”

“Yea the sprinklers went off so it had to be something, right?”

“It was me. I'm so hot that they thought the building was on fire.”

“Ugh, shut up!”

Students were pouring out of the exit now. Sunggyu peeled his eyes open and peered through the bushes. The students, slightly wet, were all looking back up at the library, searching for any trace of a fire. There was none, but Sunggyu still felt like flames were licking the back of his neck. Something wasn’t right. There was one person who wasn’t watching the building. The man in black searched the crowd, for the two that got away. He pulled up his cap to get a better look, and the wig shifted. Sunggyu screwed his eyes shut again and curled up into a tight ball. He was whispering a prayer underneath his breath, fervently, praying to every god that he could think of and whatever of Kate’s saints that could get him out of this situation.

What made him stop was that he felt the weight shifting off of his back. “Sunggyu,” Woohyun whispered softly. The leaves rustled as Woohyun shifted and moved away from the other. But Sunggyu still wouldn’t open his eyes. He shook his head and curled up more tightly. Now only a hand laid on his back, not moving. It seemed only to be there to show that Woohyun hadn’t left him. “Sunggyu, he’s gone now. It’s alright.”

“R-really,” Sunggyu stuttered, no louder than the leaves.

“Really.” Woohyun’s hand moved up and down his back. “It’s okay now. It’s okay. You can relax.”

Sunggyu scoffed at that. Relax? Sunggyu could barely breathe properly now, but in spite of that, he was laughing softly, until he started coughing because he wasn’t getting enough air. Woohyun’s hand fell away from his back, as if that was what was making his friend cough. Sunggyu continued coughing and laughing until he unfurled and scooted back to lean against the wall. Woohyun followed him and pressed his back against the wall too. But he was watching Sunggyu curiously, unsure of what to do. Now Sunggyu knocked the back of his head back against the wall and let out a deep breath, not making eye contact with the other. He wasn’t sure of what to do either.

So Woohyun tried talking, which they both did best: “I can't believe he came here. I can't  believe he came here to find you.” Sunggyu whined. He really didn’t want to talk about it, but Woohyun didn’t pick up on the hint (or cared to) because he continued, “Why? You’re not the only gay in Seoul.”

“I don’t know,” Sunggyu grumbled out an answer. He’d hope that that answer would put the matter to rest, but then he himself was awake to that question. He could not lay it back down as it harassed him. _Why? Why me?_ Sunggyu pulled at the strings of his hoodie. _Maybe because I got away. No, no, there has to be more to it._ Sunggyu tucked his lip into his mouth as he thought back (even though he didn’t want to) to earlier, when the man was talking to him. Back then, Sunggyu honestly thought he had the upperhand. He was waiting for the attacker to accidentally divulge something, his motive or a part of his identity, so that Sunggyu could catch him. And the attacker _did_ reveal something: inappropriate relationship with Myungeun? Sunggyu cocked his head as he tried to work that out. It _had_ to be Myungeun. He didn’t know any other minors, but Sunggyu did know that he never once did anything inappropriate with her. “I don't know,” Sunggyu concluded aloud. He couldn’t unravel a twisted, perverted mind.

“He talked! Sunggyu! This time he talked!” Woohyun exclaimed. Sunggyu looked over at the other, wondering why the younger was so excited. There was nothing nice about being berated by that guy. Woohyun held his gaze and asked, “Do you recognize it? Do you know him?”

“I...I don't know,” Sunggyu stammered. He didn’t even think about that. He didn’t even look out for that at the time. He’d only concentrated on what the guy was saying. And now, going back and trying to remember how the attacker sounded, it was difficult. “It sounds vaguely familiar...but it could be anyone,” Sunggyu tried to brush the matter aside. But he couldn’t. Sunggyu was already beating himself up for being cocky earlier. He actually tried to toy with a psychopath, and he lost, of course. Sunggyu assumed that he wouldn't get hurt. He assumed that the other wouldn't try anything in such a public place.That was a mistake. He trusted a psychopath to act rationally. Sunggyu’s mind raced back to the man shaking the shelves and knocking books off, when he became unhinged. Sunggyu lowered his head and raise his hands to the side of it. They were trembling as they touched his temples and as Sunggyu mind was slowly breaking down, piece by piece, crumbling into ash. Sunggyu had truly lost to the attacker. The attacker had gotten under his skin, and he felt like he was on fire. _What was I doing?_ “I don't know,” Sunggyu whined out loud. _I put us both in danger. Woohyun, I dragged him into this._

Woohyun slid across the wall, leaning against Sunggyu. He pulled the hand closest to him away from Sunggyu’s head, slowly and gently, acting as if it were that hand that was keeping Sunggyu together. But it wasn’t. Sunggyu flipped his hand around and held onto Woohyun’s, tightly. He thought it would be fine, judging by how much Woohyun was pressing onto him, so it didn’t seem like a risk, not at all. No, it was something that he needed right now. And maybe Woohyun could sense that. Woohyun wrapped his other hand over Sunggyu’s cradling it. Sunggyu felt the fire, the panic in him dying down as Woohyun’s thumb caressed the back of his hands. But then his friend’s words stoked the flame again. “How does he even know about you, I wonder?” Woohyun’s comment seemed to be more to himself (and rhetorical) than to Sunggyu. It was low and he barely moved his lips. His eyes were on their hands. Woohyun probably didn’t even know that he said it outloud, but Sunggyu answered it anyway.

“Hell if I know,” he grumbled as he pressed his back up against the wall (and Woohyun too). An amusing theory flew across his mind, making him laugh. Woohyun stopped and looked up at him. Sunggyu explained, with a slender smile on his face, “Well, there was this club I went to a few times. Maybe he saw me there.”

“Why would he be there?” Woohyun asked. His brows furrowed in confusion until they flew up in surprise. “YOU went to a club?!”

Sunggyu hit him in the arm with their joined hands. “Yah, I do more than just study,” he retorted. “I do things. I’ve done things, but...I don’t know how he knows. I honestly don’t know.” It grew into something more than just that, very quickly. “He’s a psychopath, Woohyun! I don’t know what he thinks! I don’t even want to try to understand him.” Because every time he tried to, he lost; Sunggyu would get lost, dragged down into a mouth of charybdis, buffeted by waves of regret and fear, so much fear. He was scared that he’d drown. _I don’t wanna. I don’t wanna think about this. Stop! Just stop! Sunggyu..._

“Okay. Okay,” Woohyun muttered as he moved away from the other, one hand slipping away and the other one trying to.

“No.” Sunggyu held onto that hand.

“Alright.” Woohyun moved his hand as much as he could in Sunggyu’s grip, and the elder let him when he realized that he just wanted to lock their fingers together. Meanwhile, Woohyun turned towards him and laid a hand on the other’s back. “Just breathe. Breathe.”

Sunggyu stared at him, drawing in a shaky breath through a clenched throat. He had no idea that he wasn’t breathing, or not doing it right. It all happened so quickly, without Sunggyu being aware of it. And all of the sudden, his body didn’t feel like his own. But it was, and he needed to regain control of it. Soon, the drags were longer, steadier, in sync with the other’s. Sunggyu’s eyes never left his. And it helped. Sunggyu was in control again. Right as his chest felt looser, Sunggyu dropped his gaze. His fingers tapped on the back of the other’s hand. Chewing on his lip, he debated about whether he should tell Woohyun this. But in the end, no matter what excuse he tried to come up with, Sunggyu knew that he had to, even if it meant risking losing him and himself.

“He knows about you too.”

“What?” Woohyun replied.

“He thinks...you’re my...b-boyfriend,” Sunggyu stammered. It felt weird to say, and all too soon.

“O-oh,” it was obvious that Woohyun was trying hard to remain stoic, but his voice cracked. Sunggyu would’ve found it funny, if he wasn’t in this situation (having panic attacks behind a bush). And both of them kept facing forward, staring through the branches. The alarm had turned off and the crowd of students began to thin. And all Woohyun could say was, “I guess I can see how he’d think that.”

Sunggyu didn’t want to think too much about it, about why his voice sounded dead or why their hands were still together. So he let go and dug his finger into the ground instead. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “He could go after you next. You...”

“Don’t be. Don’t be sorry,” Woohyun cut him off. “It’s not your fault.” He paused, swallowing something down. Sunggyu didn’t know what it was; he just heard it. Woohyun kept going, “This whole thing. You've done nothing to deserve it. You've done nothing wrong.” That was followed by a sharp intake and a muted whimper, so Sunggyu knew what was going on before he’d looked over at the other. But he was still shocked to see it.

“Woohyun, you're crying,” Sunggyu declared, saying it outloud to make the realization to sink in. He didn’t think Woohyun could or would ever, not in front of him, or even over him (if that’s what Woohyun was really crying about).

“That’s right. I cry. I cry a lot. And I'm sick of pretending like I don't anymore,” Woohyun grumbled as he roughly rubbed his eyes, pressing more tears out in streams. He drew his knees up to his chest and lowered his head. Another sob cracked through his throat after he admitted, “I'm scared.”

“Me too,” Sunggyu confessed too, and he reached over into the small opening that Woohyun left and wiped one of the streams with his knuckles. But as he dabbed that one up, another one formed, down his own face. Sunggyu sniffed. He was crying too? But why? Woohyun raised his head and seemed to be asking those same questions to himself. Sunggyu wiped the other’s cheeks with his thumb, avoiding looking into Woohyun’s red and lost eyes. But as usual, Woohyun had his ways to trap the other. The younger grabbed at Sunggyu’s hand, pressing it harder onto his cheek. And Sunggyu gaze flew up to his, seeing Woohyun turn his head slightly, into the hand and about to...

“Oh hey guys! What's going on?”

Both Sunggyu and Woohyun jolted away from each other and shook at their friend’s voice. But Dongwoo just laughed, probably revelling in the fact that he’d just given both of them the fright of their lives, and crawled behind the bushes to join them. Sunggyu had to scoot down to make room for Dongwoo, and the new arrival managed to squeeze himself between the two, which was for the best. Dongwoo then threw an arm around both of them and brought them close to his sides. “Who are we hiding from?” he asked.

“Ah,” the other two muttered, nearly speechless. Sunggyu didn’t know about Woohyun, but he himself was too busy getting rid of any trace of crying on his person to make sense of Dongwoo or what he was saying.

“Oh!” Dongwoo exclaimed and released the both of them from his hold. “I see. He’s right there!” Sunggyu stiffened at that, eyes stuck to the ground. _He’s right there. He’s right there! He came back!_ Sunggyu looked around Dongwoo, towards Woohyun, and the younger was already staring right back at him, just as equally freaked out. And the both of them yelped when Dongwoo jumped up. “I say ho you say…”

“Yaaaaaaaah!” Hoya, who had been innocently walking by the bushes at the time, screamed and flinched. But as soon as he saw who it was who scared him, Hoya rolled his eyes and put his hands on his hips. “Aish, Jang Dongwoo,” he swore at the other.

“It's not just me!” Dongwoo declared and he bent down to pull the other two up with him. Sunggyu and Woohyun both got onto their feet and awkwardly waved at Hoya, barely following along with what had just happened.

“Should've known Woohyun would be behind this!” Hoya retorted. But then his mouth fell open in shock. “And Sunggyu-hyung?” Hoya clicked his tongue and shook his head, not at Sunggyu but at the wolf. “Woohyun, you're becoming a bad influence on him.”

“Me?” Woohyun sounded hurt by that comment and pointed to himself. “Me?” he repeated more loudly to Hoya who once again refused to answer and just kept walking by the three of them.

“I think our little hyung is more mischievous than we give him credit for,” Dongwoo spoke to Hoya’s back. And Hoya just raised his hand, acknowledging it, but kept walking along. Dongwoo once again started laughing. He patted his friends on the backs. “Good prank, guys. I'll see you at lunch.” And with that, Dongwoo jumped over the bush and began running after Hoya.

“Prank? What prank? Where? I want to help!” Sungyeol exclaimed and came up to his friends, bounding with excitement. But Dongwoo passed him by, and Kate too, who was only a few steps behind her long-legged boyfriend. So he turned to the other two, who were still standing behind the bush. “What prank?” he repeated, less excited than last time. In fact, the excitement drained from Sungyeol as he kept looking at the other two, as did the color from his face. He was pale now and his eyes wide. “Oh no,” he muttered. Kate now was at his side. She’d slowed down when she caught sight of Sunggyu. She walked up to them with dread in her step and on her face. Sungyeol begged, “Guys, don't tell me.”

“He was here,” Woohyun told him anyway.

“I'll call the police,” Kate offered. She then patted Sungyeol’s arm. “Tall person, keep watch,” she ordered him before she pulled out her phone and stepped away from the three of them to make the call.

Sungyeol, on the other hand, leapt in front of the bushes with his arms outstretched. “I'll protect you,” he declared and began punching the air, knocking the ‘criminal’ away.  He then lowered his fists and glared at all directions. “I’ll spot him with my eyes.”

“I'm getting out of the bushes now,” Sunggyu announced as he pushed past Woohyun and finally scrambled out of the bushes.

“Me too,” Woohyun was only a few steps behind him and now was laughing, which made Sunggyu break out into a smile too. Sure, he felt embarrassed but...his eyes flickered over to Kate who was giving their location over the phone as calmly as she could even though she was anxiously pacing then to Sungyeol who had known at a glance that something was wrong and then to Woohyun who’d been with him through it all...it was endearing. And funny too. Sungyeol was still searching for the attacker out there and had barely noticed that the ones he was trying to protect were leaving. And when he did, he looked betrayed.

“Wait! Guys!”

* * *

Sunggyu’s perception of time was distorted. It felt like hours since Kate ended the call with the police and the four of them sat down on a bench alongside of the library, as close to the ‘scene of the crime’ as Sunggyu was willing to get. But it had to be under an hour before the car came and the officers came running up to him.

It was the silence that made the time drag by and the awkwardness too. Sungyeol was sitting in between him and Woohyun, and Sunggyu didn’t know whether to be thankful for that or not. He and Woohyun needed to talk, but now was hardly the time for it. And Sunggyu had no idea when would be a good time. But they needed to have _the_ conversation, the same one that Sungyeol and Kate had, although Sunggyu wasn’t so sure how this one would turn out. Just last night Woohyun had shunned Sunggyu’s hug, but back then, when they were hiding, Woohyun almost...didn’t he? _Am I making this up?_ Either way, Woohyun was here with him now, skipping class to give Sunggyu support. _Oh wait...I guess he needs to give a statement too._ And that thought confused Sunggyu all the more.

Almost as anxious as Sunggyu was Kate. She hopped off of the bench a minute or two after sitting down. And she began pacing again in front of them. The silence wasn’t settling well with her either. So she began filling it by lecturing Sunggyu, which made the time pass by even slower. She was reprimanding him for leaving her apartment without his crutches. It was bad for him to keep stressing his ankle, and now ‘he’d be lucky if he could walk.’ Sunggyu rolled his eyes. He thought he was running a short errand last night. He didn’t expect to end up at Woohyun’s house or to be stalked at the library. When he said that, Kate huffed but didn’t have anything to say in response. So Sungyeol pulled at her sleeves and got her to sit back down. But she sat down next to Woohyun, mumbling to herself, and he mumbled right back to her. Sunggyu strained his ears, trying to catch their lowered voices. And right then was when police decided to come, blasting their sirens and covering their conversation.

If waiting for the police felt like hours, then talking to them felt like days passing. The officers were just as fascinated with the fact that the attacker talked to him as Woohyun was. He tried to describe the voice to them the best that he could, but it was hard. A voice that was familiar but was it familiar because it was rather ordinary or because he’d heard it before? Sunggyu wasn’t able to say. He also revealed that the blonde hair was a wig, which did nothing but broaden their list of suspects. Sunggyu felt utterly unhelpful, and even more so when the police assigned protection to him. It wasn’t safe for Sunggyu to walk around without one. The attacker had form an attachment with him, for whatever reason. He ‘liked’ Sunggyu, that was what one officer said, and Sunggyu scoffed at that. Yes, the attacker ‘liked’ him to death.

Also the police had a lecture of their own for Sunggyu. It was their job to mess with the criminal, to take risks with him; it wasn’t Sunggyu’s. It was Sunggyu’s job just to survive and be a student, try to live life as normally as he could and to contact the police if problems were to arise. But now Sunggyu didn’t even have to call for the police anymore, not when he was constantly being tailed by one. Even now, when he left the officers and his friends, a rookie cop was escorting him to his lecture. The man didn’t sit besides him in class, but waited outside of the door. Sunggyu didn’t know how to feel about it. It was strange, and he was starting to realize that maybe his situation was more dire than he thought it was.

“What am I going to tell my parents?” he wondered.

They were coming up for a few days tomorrow. They had wanted to come earlier, but Sunggyu had convinced them to stay home for a bit longer. They had commitments tying them there until now. Sunggyu’s father couldn’t get out of work easily, and his mother was watching his cousin’s kids because (to top it all off) Sunggyu’s grandmother (who normally watched them) was in the hospital, but was now discharged. Sunggyu thought it wasn’t a big deal if they’d come a few days later. He thought he was safe. He told them that he was. But now things had gotten worse, and the officer outside of the lecture hall right now was proof of that.

He wasn’t even paying attention to Professor Kang right now. He was tapping his pen against his notebook. _What am I going to tell them? What can I say? They’ll probably force me to come back home._

And right now, Sunggyu didn’t think that was a horrible idea.

* * *

_Thank you, Namu. I don’t know how I could’ve gotten through all of this without you._

Woohyun threw the rag on the table that he was wiping down and put his hands on the table, bowing his head. _Why did I have to think of that again?_ Woohyun groaned. He felt guilty for fooling Sunggyu. _It’s not like that at all_. He knew that Sunggyu used to think of him as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, but it was just the opposite. Inside, Woohyun was a little lamb in wolf’s clothing. He was no savior. He wasn’t the pillar of strength and fortitude that Sunggyu needed to rely on. Woohyun was just a little, scared lamb.

Ever since Woohyun fought with the attacker that night, he’d been having nightmares, and his paranoia was growing with every passing day. Even just working at his parent’s place, he felt so overwhelmed. His heart was racing and his hair was standing on their ends. He had looked out the window countless times, and right now he just needed to not look at anything. _Would he actually come here? There’s a chance...a chance that he knows me as well as he knows Sunggyu._ After all, the attacker chose to prowl around at the library. Was it because he was following Sunggyu or was it because that’s where Woohyun worked? It could possibly be both. _What am I supposed to do?_

He didn’t know. He didn’t know what to do at all, and everything he did was wrong. Like when the attacker ran off and Woohyun went to comfort Sunggyu, and Woohyun got f***ing punched in the face because trying to squeeze the life out of someone having a panic attack wasn’t the best idea. But it was what Woohyun had wanted to do at the moment. He was just so grateful that the both of them were alive. He couldn’t help himself, just like Sunggyu couldn’t help shoving him off and crawling away. Then there was the time Sunggyu crashed at his place. First of all, Woohyun was scared shitless too at the thought of the attacker being nearby. His hand was shaking so hard that he had to hold his house key with both hands to unlock the door. And he felt just as safe and secure in that bathroom as Sunggyu did, or at least he did until Sunggyu hugged him and said, “I don’t know how I could’ve gotten through all of this without you.” Woohyun felt his wolf’s clothing slipping off of his back as tears slipped out of his eyes. Pillars of strength don’t cry, and so Woohyun ran out of the room before Sunggyu could see him break down into tears. And boy, did he cry that night, bitterly too. He wasn’t really sure why he was, but in the end, he was just overwhelmed by everything. And so he wept about everything, about how unfair this all was, how scared he was, and because Sunggyu was grateful for a dependable friend (when Woohyun felt like he was barely holding himself together).

Woohyun scoffed. He wasn’t so dependable now, after breaking down into tears while hiding behind a freaking bush. And ever since then, he and Sunggyu haven’t really talked. They barely saw each other these past few days. Kate said it was because Sunggyu was spending time with his parents, and Woohyun really hoped that was all it was. _Maybe he doesn’t want me anymore_ , he couldn’t shake that thought off his back just like how he couldn’t shed his paranoia.

Before then, when he was still playing at the ‘savior,’ Woohyun had an inkling that Sunggyu liked him, although the elder hadn’t said that much. But Woohyun could tell by his actions, like how Sunggyu often went to him for help and the fact that Woohyun could calm him down. And that inkling alone gave Woohyun the strength to fulfill his role. Why? Because he liked Sunggyu too. But the timing now was horrible for either of them to do anything about it, especially when he hadn’t seen Sunggyu these past few days. It only brought that thought cycling back through his head, _Maybe he doesn’t want me anymore. Maybe he doesn’t like me._ All because he showed his true, weak self.

But then again, Sunggyu did try to wipe away his tears. Yet on the other hand, they haven’t spoken to each other in days. _What am I supposed to make of this?_

 _What am I supposed to do?_ Woohyun thought as he turned around and made for the kitchen. And it was a good thing that he did. If he hadn’t, he would’ve seriously been injured.

A brick flew through the window, hitting Woohyun in the back and knocking him onto his knees. Glass soared around him and cut through him as they glanced off his skin. At that moment, the world slowed down as he fell down onto his knees and then his hands. But he kept his head up, watching the glittering pieces of glass fly past him.

Woohyun screamed out in pain, when time came back up to speed, and the reality hit him. The cuts seared his skin, and his back, it felt broken. He crawled away and hid behind a counter, slithering along the floor. Once hidden, he looked at his hands which were dripping with red. “Ah, ah,” Woohyun whimpered as he tried to wipe the red away, but only more came out. “Ah, ah.” That was how he was breathing now. “Ah, ah.”

“Wha-WOOHYUN-AH! Oh my god! What happened to you?”

“Mom!” Woohyun cried out, looking up from his hands and at his mother who was rushing towards him right now.

“What happened?” she repeated. She kneeled down next to him and reached for his hands. But something inside Woohyun turned. It was instinctual. He recoiled, pulling his hands away from her, and he stood up. Craning his next back, he scanned the scene. There was a crowd gathering at the broken window, wondering what had happened there. Just a crowd and nothing more. No man in black. He was probably long gone by now. And when he realized that, Woohyun finally started breathing again..

“I’m fine,” he muttered as he walked towards the window, wincing at every step. The small shock from walking shot up his back. He searched for the culprit, the one that gave him pain. “Someone threw something, and…” as he was explaining it to his mother, he found it, the brick. It had a slur written across it in black. _He thinks you’re my boyfriend_ , Sunggyu’s words rang through his head. _Well, that explains that._ He tried to flip the brick over before his mother could read the nasty message. But it was too late. He heard her read it aloud below her breath as he flipped it over. “I guess this was it,” Woohyun finished as he pointed to the brick.

His mother wrapped her hands around her son’s arm and pulled him away from the glass. “Why? Why would somebody do this?” she asked.

“It's the guy I told you about, Mom,” Woohyun replied and allowed himself to be pulled away. He spoke in a low tone lest anyone outside could hear him.

She was worried. “The one after your friend?” her voice was as low as his. Her eyes darted over towards the window, perhaps searching for the man. Her grip tightened. And Woohyun swore that he could feel something squeeze out of him.

He inhaled sharply through his teeth. “That's the one,” he responded.

“But why would he…”

Woohyun cut her off, “He thinks that I’m dating Sunggyu.” _Mom, just stop it here. I don’t want to, I don’t want to do it like this. Don’t ask anything else._

However she kept going. “But you’re not!” that sliced through him like the glass had. Woohyun flinched. “He's just a friend…isn't he?” there was a lilt. Her voice drifted up in doubt and in volume. Her eyes were now boring through her son, more so the longer that he was silent.

“No, I'm not dating him...but I could be. I might,” Woohyun finally came out with it. His mother’s hands fell from him. And his head bowed, gaze dropped to the floor. There was glass stuck to his shoes and he tried to kick them off as he spoke. “And the guy knows that much,” his lips were barely moving as he spoke. “Mom, this...that’s right,” he said while gesturing towards the brick. “This is what I am. But, aish, this isn't how I wanted to do this.” His chest grew tight again, his eyes hot. He started rubbing his hands together again. It stung. Why was he doing this? Why did he have to do this now?

“O-oh,” she stammered while she was stepping away from her son. She was going back towards the kitchen. “We need to clean this up,” his mother stated and she gestured back towards the mess.

“No, don’t,” Woohyun argued and grabbed her sleeve to stop her. And she turned back towards him, confused. “It’s a crime scene.”

“Oh, then…let me,” her voice was breaking as her shaking hands raised to touch her son’s face. Woohyun could see the tears starting to form in her eyes, which didn’t help him to keep control of himself.

He pulled his face from her hands. “Get dad. I’ll call the police,” he said.

His mother looked hurt, but she did as she was told. “Oh, okay,” and with that, she left in search of his father.

When she was gone, he stared at his hands. _Nam Woohyun, you’re in danger now._ He didn’t have just the attacker to worry about anymore.

* * *

Luckily, Woohyun didn’t even have to call the police. Some good Samaritan among the throng of gawkers did it for him. Sirens wailed in the distance before Woohyun gathered the strength and the breath to make the call. The first responders attended to his wounds first before the police could gather his statement. It was strange. He’d been talking a lot to the police lately, but this was the first time that the focus was solely on him. This must’ve been how Sunggyu felt, like he was underneath a microscope. He was examined over and over again. Photos of him were taken. And for the first time, Woohyun didn’t want to check them to see how he looked. He didn’t need to. He looked horrible. He knew it.

However, the police were already aware of Woohyun and the case, and so it wrapped up much sooner than he remembered it taking the very first time. It was disconcerting though, for all of them. The attacker may have ventured out of the neighborhood when he stalked Sunggyu at the library, but Woohyun was the first victim outside of the neighborhood. The attacker was escalating and expanding his hunting grounds.

For that reason, they stationed a patrol car outside of his house, just in case the attacker would come back. And the Nams closed down their shop for the night. The only fortunate thing about the attack was that it happened before they were open for dinner service, so closing the restaurant was just as simple as posting a notice on the door. When that happened, they sent Woohyun home ‘to rest’ while they cleaned up the place and boarded up the window. Woohyun refused and tried to help, but then his father pushed him out of the door. But Woohyun didn’t leave without pilfering a bottle of soju first, and then he escaped up into his room.

He passed his time drinking by himself and staring at the wall, thinking of nothing much at all. He was just waiting for the other foot to drop and set things into motion. His secret was out. He was out. Now what was going to happen? Woohyun didn’t want to think about it. That was why he was just blankly staring at the wall and drinking the thoughts (or the ability to think straightly) away. Right as he was wishing that he had a second bottle, his parents came home. Woohyun drained his last glass and listened to them stomp up the stairs and go into their bedroom which was next to him. He clambered onto his bed and leaned against the wall, cheek pressed against it. He tried his best to pick up on those muffled voices.

He caught them. “If he wasn’t like this, his life wouldn’t be at risk!” his father’s low voice was loud enough to pierce through the wall. Woohyun didn’t have to strain his ears to hear it. He recoiled, second guessing his decision to listen in, but his ears still picked up on the sounds passing through them. “Not just now but...later too. Can't he just pretend?”

“I don't know,” his mother responded. “And his friend. Do you remember?” her voice was moving across the room, probably following her husband. “We suspected it when Woohyun first told us, but…” When she paused, Woohyun’s heart stopped too. Did they really start suspecting him? When? After the first attack? Or when Sunggyu came to stay the night? His already warm cheeks burned. This was so embarrassing. He covered his face and groaned, which almost drowned out his mother saying, “I wouldn't have ever imagined.”

Woohyun’s breath caught in his throat. He strained his ear, listening in closer. “Me either,” his father grumbled. His voice was fainter now. And Woohyun heard their bathroom door creak open.

“But…” and his mother’s voice disappeared inside of the bathroom. Water was running in full force in there and drowned all traces of their conversation. Woohyun frowned. Did they know that he was listening in? Probably. They knew exactly where Woohyun was, and how thin their walls were.

Woohyun groaned and flopped down onto the bed. He squirmed until he managed to lay his head onto a pillow. But laying like that hurt his back. Laying in any way hurt his back. It was just going to be a thing now, he guessed. Woohyun closed his eyes, contemplating whether he should take another painkiller or not, but his eyes snapped wide open when he heard the water shut off. The door opened again, and a voice grew louder and louder, not only because she was getting closer to the wall but because she was getting more worked up. “At the end of the day, he's still Woohyun,” his mother argued. “We might've not known this about our son, but we _know_ our son. He doesn't take relationships lightly.”

Woohyun sat up in his bed before there was a knock at his door. He didn’t know what to say, so he just grunted. His mother opened the door just a crack. “Woohyun, are you asleep?” she whispered.

“No,” Woohyun answered, playing with the bandages on his hands. His mother then slipped through that crack, with an anxious smile on her face.

“How are you feeling?” she asked as she walked over to the bed. Woohyun brought his feet up closer to him in order to give his mother room to sit down.

When she was slowly lowering herself on the bed, he replied, “Hurt.” He was still too afraid to speak because he didn’t know what she came in to say. And all he wanted for her to do was just to talk about _it_ , but she looked just as afraid to speak as he did.

“I thought so. Here,” she said and offered the pills in her hand and the mug of water in the other. Woohyun was surprised to see them. He’d been so fixed on her expression that he hadn’t noticed that she was carrying anything. Woohyun thanked her and took the painkillers. After he popped them in his mouth and washed them down, his mother pulled at the edge of his shirt. Woohyun raised an eyebrow with his mug still to his lips. “And your back? Can I see it?” she asked. Woohyun nodded, put the mug on his nightstand, and turned around while pulling up his shirt. Judging by the strangled gasp that came out of her, his back looked horrid. With feather-like touches, she caressed his back. It hurt. It hurt a lot. Woohyun flinched. And the touches were gone. “My poor baby,” her voice was quivering.

“Mom?” Woohyun called to her while he quickly pulled down his shirt. She didn’t answer. But he saw why soon enough. When he turned around, he saw his mother quietly sobbing. “It's okay! It's just a bruise,” he relayed what the paramedics told him. “It’s okay,” he tried to soothe her, but with his words only. He was still too scared to do anything more.

His mother shook her head fervently. “No, it's not okay,” she spat back. Woohyun flinched again and shut his eyes. “When someone is threatening my precious son’s life, saying such hateful things, it's really not okay! It's horrible!” she exclaimed. Woohyun opened his eyes again. She now had a fist in her mouth. She was biting it in order to restrain herself. But the tears wouldn’t stop flowing and the sobs kept coming. She then gave up and let it all out. “I can't believe...I don't wanna lose you,” she wailed.

Woohyun too couldn’t hold himself back anymore. He scooted down and embraced his mother, hooking his head over her shoulder and swaying them back and forth. “You won't lose me...right?” Woohyun wanted to comfort her, but a small part of him was still worried that he’d find himself on the streets at the end of the night, or have his parents try to fruitlessly convince him to be ‘safer.’ He strengthened his hold on his mother. _Please don’t._

“If you stay home, stay safe,” she responded. Her voice was muffled as she was speaking into his shoulder. And there it was: safe. Woohyun hoped that she didn’t mean what he thought she meant by that.

So he pushed it. He pulled away slightly so that he could look at her. “But I can't. I have to go to school, see my friends,” he emphasized the last word, hoping that she could read in between his words.

“I know, I know. It's just that…” she paused and avoided Woohyun’s gaze. So he lowered his head and caught hers. What was she thinking? She looked up shyly at him. “I don't want to see you get hurt anymore.”

“I won't. I'm strong,” Woohyun stayed firm. He might have many tears, and he might be more of a lamb. But he knew how to act like a wolf. He knew how to protect himself, against the attacker and against the world.

His mother lifted her head back up, taking in her son’s face for a few seconds. She cupped his cheek with her hand. Her thumb brushed against a fresh cut. She smiled. “That's right. Stronger than your father and I even know,” his mother replied. Woohyun’s eyes widened. _Does she mean what I think she does?_ A smile began spreading across his own face. She let out a heavy sigh before continuing. “And old too. Old enough to make your own decisions and live your own life. You're not our little baby anymore.”

She did! She did mean it! Woohyun had a full blown smile on his face. Some cuts must’ve reopened because it stung, but he didn’t care. His heart was mending. He embraced his mother again, placing his head back at her shoulder. “I'll always be your baby, mom,” he said in a cute voice. He was the maknae of the Nams and he was more than happy to stay that way.

“Eung.” And his mother was happy to have it that way too. “You’re my baby.”

Woohyun felt his bed shift underneath him, followed by a weight on his back. He could tell by just the smell alone, it was his dad. Woohyun had no idea that his father had even come into his room, but he was here now, joining in the hug. Although his father didn’t say a thing, this hug spoke volumes. His father loved him, still, and probably always would.

And when his father actually spoke, Woohyun knew that for sure. They were now sitting down at the dinner table to eat. “What about your friend? Sung…Sung…” his father struggled to remember his name but was still asking about Woohyun’s ‘friend.’

“Sunggyu?” Woohyun reminded him. He shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m told he’s fine,” he answered, which was followed by a short chuckle. When didn’t Sunggyu say that he was fine? ‘Fine’ never meant much coming from him. And it meant even less when it came from Kate after it came from him. Sunggyu told me he’s fine. “In any case, he has police protection now,” Woohyun tried to comfort himself in that fact, but it did little to settle his nerves. “But I don’t know. I have a bad feeling. I’m afraid that something bad is going to happen to him soon. I just hope that I’m wrong.”

His parents tried to assuage those fears and told Woohyun to trust in the police. But the feeling didn’t go away. Something bad was about to happen. He could practically smell it.

* * *

Sunggyu’s parents were worried that something bad would happen too. They wanted him to come home, just like Sunggyu had suspected that they would. And Sunggyu agreed. He’d follow them home in two days. He already bought the bus ticket. But before he left, he needed to tie up a few loose ends. Tomorrow, he’d go to school and pull himself out of classes. Then he needed to say goodbyes. He didn’t want to leave without saying anything. He might not be able to say all that he wanted, but ‘goodbye’ and ‘see you later’ would be good enough for now, he hoped.

He didn’t want to ruin anything by leaving; however, by staying here, he was slowly ruining himself. He couldn’t spend his days in fear anymore. He couldn’t tolerate being watched by a rotating cast of cops anymore. He just wanted to live normally again.

For now, only Kate knew about his plan as he and his parents were staying at her place (and spent the nights at Karen’s). No, that wasn’t right. Sungyeol knew too because if Kate knew, then Sungyeol knew. That was just how they worked. So Kate and Sungyeol knew about the plan. Kate supported it and encouraged it (in fact, at times, Sunggyu wondered if she conspired with his parents on the matter). He suspected that Sungyeol would be the same (because that was just how Sungyeol worked).

But Sunggyu didn’t tell Woohyun yet. He hadn’t talked to him in days. He didn’t have the time to. Sunggyu spent the last few days being doted on by his parents. He was the maknae of the Kims and missed being babied by them. And so their visit was healing. Sunggyu felt safe and quite normal. He slept easier, ate more, and talked cheerfully like he used to. But when they left this morning, all of that was taken away from him. It was almost midnight and he was wide awake. He couldn’t remember the last time that he ate. And he barely said more than three words to Kate all day.

Yes, it was time for him to go home so that he could be himself again.

So he decided to start saying his goodbyes a bit earlier than he intended. And he started with the convenience store near his old neighborhood. Of course, there was a store closer to Kate’s place, but it wasn’t wasn’t the same. This store carried some goods that the others didn’t carry, like Sunggyu’s favorite type of triangle kimbap. And the store also carried memories that no other store had, like the several times he came to buy snacks with the Myungs or that one time he and Woohyun ate ramyun together. _When Woohyun was too broke to buy kimchi_ , Sunggyu recalled with a laugh. Who knew that he’d ever look back on that memory fondly? Sunggyu surely didn’t, not at the time.

He looked back at the rookie cop following behind him now and sighed. This really wasn’t the kind of company he was used to or wanted. _But it’s better than being alone,_ Sunggyu reminded himself as he limped into the store.

“Good evening.”

Sunggyu froze as chills ran down his spine. He tightened his grip on his crutches. “Is everything okay?” the cop asked from behind him. Sunggyu shivered from being startled. It was just the cashier. That was all. He’d just gotten spooked again. The cashier’s greeting took him off guard. _This is why I need to go home. I can’t live like this anymore._

“I’m fine,” Sunggyu mumbled as he swung his crutches and moved down the aisle.

Sunggyu assembled a feast for the both of them. Paying for ramyun was the least Sunggyu could do to thank the cop for his hard work. This rookie, Joohyuk, was the one who watched over Sunggyu the most and so the two of them bonded, even though they’d only been ‘together’ for a short period of time. Joohyuk didn’t talk much or invade his privacy. And his long limbs and round eyes reminded him of Sungyeol. So it felt comfortable with him. Joohyuk almost felt like a friend.

While they waited for their ramyun to cook, Sunggyu asked, “Do you want some kimchi? Ramyun without kimchi is like bread without red bean and cabbage wrap without pork and chicken without pickled radish…” he stopped when he was only met with the cop’s empty gaze. Sunggyu cleared his throat. “So do you want some?” Joohyuk answered with a nod. And so Sunggyu grabbed his crutches and lifted himself up to buy some kimchi.

When he arrived at the register with two packets of kimchi, the cashier was nowhere in sight. There was only a black cap resting on the counter. Sunggyu stared at it for a few moments before shaking some nasty memories out of his head and he searched the small store for the cashier, who was found outside of the store, sweeping the steps. Sunggyu didn’t want to interrupt him, so he placed his change on the counter and returned back to his ramyun. He’d just tell the cashier later about it, but now Sunggyu finally found his appetite and his noodles were at risk of swelling.

While they ate, Sunggyu watched the young man outside sweep. He frowned. What did Sungyeol, Joohyuk, and this guy eat to be so tall, and why didn’t Sunggyu get any of it when he was younger? And they all seemed to be younger than him. Life wasn’t fair. Well, at least Sunggyu could take solace in the fact that he was taller than Nam Woohyun. He smirked at that, and then also at cashier. It was obvious that the cashier was sweeping for lack of anything more entertaining to do. He was just sweeping the same spot over and over again. And watching that broom move back and forth like a metronome gradually made Sunggyu feel sleepy. Already, Sunggyu got more than he bargained for out of this trip. _It was a good choice to come here_.

Joohyuk cleaned up for the both of them. And while he was doing that, Sunggyu made his way outside. The cop would catch up. Sunggyu couldn’t get far with his crutches. He was hardly faster than a turtle now. He wouldn’t be able to out race anybody. Luckily, he didn’t have to.

“I left some money on the counter for two things of kimchi,” Sunggyu told the cashier as he went by him.

“Thank you, sir. Have a good evening.”

Sunggyu froze again. There was a reason why that voice spooked him before. It _was_ a familiar voice. He’d heard it many times before, giving him polite greetings as he came and left the store. No wonder why he didn’t recognize it then! Sunggyu craned his neck back. Those eyes! His mind flashed back to when he was hiding in the bushes and saw the man lift up his cap, brushing his wig out of _those_ eyes! It was him! Sunggyu knew that it was!

His swung his gaze over to Joohyuk and opened his mouth to shout. But that shout became a gargled scream as the attacker dropped his broom, lurched forward, and tackled Sunggyu, pushing him into the street and right in front of a speeding car.

The headlights swallowed Sunggyu whole.

He fell onto the ground. The car ran him over. Bones crunched under the weight and the car came to an abrupt halt over his body. The pain, there was so much of it, searing through his body. But there was also this numbness, as Sunggyu was struggling to hold onto his wits. There was relief too. It wasn't as bad as it could've been. Sunggyu was alive, mostly conscience, and he was going to live through this.

His military training had kicked in. When the cashier pushed him, he wasn’t able to get any footing and ended up falling onto the ground. He then began to army crawl across the road the furthest that he could. The car managed to slow down enough to give him time but it still skidded into him. Well, it skidded over him. The wheels were still crushing his leg, or legs. Sunggyu wasn't sure, and he wasn't going to look. He also wasn’t able to. His strength was leaving him quickly, oozing out into the pavement into red streams. His cheek was pressed into the pavement.

He couldn’t see anything, but he could hear. A woman was wailing. Joohyuk, he was shouting Sunggyu’s name, over and over again. Were those his hands on him? Soon there were sirens, again, those blasted all-too familiar sirens. There were more voices, and then more hands. Questions were asked of him. Sunggyu answered “yes” to all of them, hoping that would get him out from under the car. “Yes, yes, yes, get me out,” was the only thing he had the strength to say. It was getting harder to lift his head from the ground.

But then it was lifted for him. His entire body was being taken away. More hands, accompanied by faces, not a one of them was familiar to Sunggyu. And not a one of them was the attacker’s.

_He didn’t get me. It’s all over. All over._

* * *

Sunggyu slipped in and out on his way to the hospital. He could barely keep his eyes open, but he was also too afraid to close them, just in case. Once he was admitted, it got easier to stay cognizant. He assumed that things were done to him to help that, like the things around his legs now and the I.V. in his arm. It was easier, but everything was still hazy.

Sunggyu knew that Kate was there by his side after a while. That made sense. After the first attack, she put herself down as his emergency contact. Next to her was a tall looming figure that Sunggyu assumed was Sungyeol or a doctor. Or both? Did Sungyeol become a doctor recently? He couldn’t remember.

Then he was moved onto a gurney. The surgeon finally arrived, and he was being transferred into the operating room. Kate and Sungyeol were by his side as he was quickly rolled down the hall. And maybe, just maybe, he caught sight of someone else, whose lower canine jutted out from his lip, who called out his name but then went away when Sunggyu was pushed through the door to the O.R..

Was Woohyun really there? Or was he just imagining things? Sunggyu wasn’t wondering for much longer. A mask was placed over his face. And after a deep breath, two, three, Sunggyu finally closed his eyes for a long, long time.

* * *

“Namu?! You’re here?! Why didn’t you come back to see Sunggyu?” Kate’s voice echoed down the hall as marched up towards Woohyun, getting too close to him. Woohyun had to step back, feeling cornered. And Sungyeol held her shoulder, stopping her from advancing any further.

“He didn’t want to,” Sungyeol answered for him.

Kate doubled back and faced her boyfriend wordlessly for a few seconds before her eyes slowly wandered back to Woohyun. “Why?” her voice was as lost as her expression.

Woohyun slouched and put his hands in his pockets. His eyes were downcast. He couldn’t look at the other two out of shame but he could still answer, “I didn’t think he’d want to see me.” He really didn’t have any intentions of seeing Sunggyu, at least not now. That’s what he told Sungyeol, when they ran into each other in the waiting room outside of the E.R.. That was what Woohyun said, what he intended, but he was still at the hospital. And when he saw Sunggyu being rolled into the O.R., Woohyun’s feet moved to his side before he could realize it. His body wasn’t listening to him.

“Of course he’d _want_ to,” Kate argued with a whine and a stamp of her foot. She really couldn’t understand.

Woohyun shook his head with a small apologetic smile on his face. “I’m not like you,” he retorted. Kate, further confused by that, looked towards Sungyeol for clarification, and he was just nodding along to what Woohyun said, giving her no help. So Woohyun explained, “You two are practically family. Family should be back there.”

“True, but…” Kate was scrambling to find the words. Her gaze was darting all over as if she could catch the right phrase midair, but all did catch was: “You’re not nothing to him.”

Woohyun sputtered. ‘Not nothing,’ how did that figure into relationships? Was it more or less than a ‘some’? Would it even classify as friends? No matter what the answer was, Woohyun was sure that this truth would remain: “I don’t think he would’ve wanted me to see him like that.” And Woohyun didn’t think he could handle it.

“O-oh, maybe…” Kate seemed to be realizing the situation. However she hadn’t fully grasped it yet. “But…” she tried to continue the argument but Sungyeol cut her off.

“Kate, don’t you need to call hyung’s parents? Tell them that he’s in surgery?” he reminded her. His hands were still on her shoulders, and still pulling her away from Woohyun every time that she tried to make a step towards him (Kate could be unintentionally intimidating in that respect. He was only trying to give Woohyun space to breathe and think).

“Yes, but…” Kate couldn’t let it drop.

So Sungyeol took up the matter from her. “I’ll look after things here,” he offered and gestured vaguely around them (or not so vaguely because he was pointing at the O.R.’s doors and at Woohyun).

“Okay,” she gave in with a small voice. Before she left, she got onto her toes in order to place a peck on Sungyeol’s cheek, but that was only so she could whisper ‘covertly’ into his ear, “Tell me everything.”

“Eung,” he grunted softly in response (which made Woohyun scoff. Nothing these two did was as ‘covert’ as they thought they were being), and Sungyeol watched her walk down the hall and turn the corner. Once she did, the two of them sighed, for different reasons. For Woohyun, he felt a pressure lift off of him when she left. Kate was protective of Sunggyu, and maybe a little too much. So when she was starting to question Woohyun, it wasn’t good, especially when he didn’t have an answer yet.

He and Sungyeol went into a waiting room. They were ushered over there by some of the staff. And they sat their in silence, twiddling their thumbs, bouncing their legs, as time ticked by all too slowly for their liking. Sungyeol was the one to lose his patience first: “What’s going on between the two of you?”

“Me and Kate?” Woohyun shot back.

Sungyeol wasn’t distracted for one second. “You and Sunggyu,” he clarified. Woohyun looked down at his lap, at his wringing hands which were now red from rubbing and sore. However, Sungyeol’s gaze never left him. He could feel it burning into the side of his head. Kate wasn’t the only protective one, in the end. “You guys became friends, didn’t you?” Sungyeol asked. Woohyun gave a short nod. “Did you fight?” At that, Woohyun shook his head fervently. “Did he say something that made you mad?” This time, Woohyun barely shook his head, and his head bowed down more. “Then what is it? You two have been weird since the thing at the library,” Sungyeol pointed out. He then pressed his fingers into the side of Woohyun’s head and pushed it to get the other to look at him. And so Woohyun did, but he only answered with a shrug. Sungyeol stuck his tongue in his cheek for a moment, probably holding back some choice words, but then those words began falling from his lips regardless, “You’re being annoying, you know that? You _have_ to know…”

“I don’t know!” Woohyun snapped, cutting him off. Sungyeol set his jaw, peeved. Woohyun dropped his gaze again to his lap. “I don’t know what’s going to happen to us. I’m still trying to figure it out,” he admitted, followed by a heavy sigh.

“Figure it out soon, okay?” Sungyeol urged him. “I don’t want things to go back to the way that they were. I like the way things are now, with us all being friends.” He pulled his eyes away from the other and faced forward, slumping down in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t want to choose between the both of you,” he grumbled.

Woohyun nudged him. “Eh, I wouldn’t make you choose,” he promised.

Sungyeol looked up at him and spoke with 100% honesty, “You wouldn’t, but Sunggyu would.” And that made Woohyun sputter it laughter. It was ridiculous but it was true. It was so Sunggyu. Sungyeol then started laughing along with him. And the two of them were laughing too much and too loudly. Woohyun didn’t know about Sungyeol, but he felt like he was laughing just to feel happier now. So when he began laughing, he didn’t want to stop. But they eventually both did. Woohyun noticed that they had drawn glares from others in the waiting room. It wasn’t the right time of day for nonsensical cackling, nor the right place.

But maybe if the others were in the same situation, they’d do the same thing. Because now all they had was anxiety and silence.

Then Kate finally came back from her calls, but her eyes weren’t on her friends. There were stuck on the wall next to them. “Guys…” she broke the silence. Lifting a finger bit by bit, she pointed at the wall. “...the t.v.”

The silence came back and their anxiety flew up. Woohyun’s heart was hammering in his chest.

It was the 7 o’clock news. Was it really that late? Or was it early? The sun had risen but everything in here was still dark, and continually darkening. But with the sun breaking over the horizon outside, there was breaking news. The attacker had been arrested, and all three of them relaxed in their seats, but Woohyun was still nervously chewed on the pad of his thumb as he listened to the details of the arrest. This was the first time that any of them had heard the news. They knew, they immediately knew that what happened to him was related to the attacker, but that was it. And now the identity of the criminal was flashing across the screen. It was someone that they all passed by in daily life, never giving him a second glance, and yet he was able to upturn their lives and destroy Sunggyu’s. Woohyun heard Kate mutter something below her breath, probably about how she should’ve known. After all, she was a ‘good judge of character,’ but this guy managed to slip through her fingers. Kate shouldn’t feel guilty, but Woohyun could relate. He was feeling the same. How many times had he handed over money to that cashier? How many times did he touch the hands that tried to kill Sunggyu, and tried to kill him? _Oh god. How could I?_ Woohyun pulled his gaze from the screen and stared blankly at the wall. _How could we not have suspected?_

“Oh my god!” Kate yelped, which brought Woohyun’s attention back to the screen, and he sincerely wished he hadn’t looked back. But now he couldn’t look away. His eyes opened wide, in shock, trying to take it all in. Unlike her, Woohyun couldn’t make a sound. His throat was too tight as he watched a video clip of Sunggyu being pulled out from under the car. There wasn’t much of Sunggyu could actually be seen, and the parts that could were blurred out to protect his identity. But they watched the first responders surrounding their friend, shouting at each other in a panic. They saw the skid marks on the pavement, the driver trying to prevent this horrible accident from happening. But it did. And now on the screen, their dear friend, writhing in pain, was being loaded into the of the ambulance.

Woohyun tore his eyes away once the footage ended and the reporter was now interviewing the arresting officer. How could they show that? Even though not everyone could tell it was Sunggyu, and not everyone even knew who Kim Sunggyu was or that he existed, how could they? Woohyun shut his eyes tightly and felt tears being squeezed out. Great, now he was crying again. He covered his face and let out a sob. He thoughts drifted from cursing the news program to cursing himself. _What the hell are you going to do now, Nam Woohyun?_

A loud snivel came from next to him. Woohyun lowered his hands a fraction and wiped his eyes clear as he looked over. Sungyeol was crying too. Woohyun sat up straight and let his hands drop to his lap. Kate was crying as well. Why? They’d already seen the aftermath. _But they hadn’t seen that_ , Woohyun reminded himself. All three of them were now realizing just how much their friend had suffered. And it was breaking their hearts.

Woohyun kept watching his friends. Sungyeol was crying so hard that his nose was starting to run, and that didn’t go unnoticed by Kate either. She pulled down her sleeve, clenching it in her fist, and used it to wipe his nose. Embarrassed by that, Sungyeol took that hand away from his face and then brought it down into his lap, holding it tightly in both of his hands. Kate then whimpered at something else on the t.v. screen and dropped her head onto his shoulders. It wasn’t until then that Woohyun decided to look away and give them some privacy. But his mind’s eye kept replaying what he’d just seen, and he couldn’t stop thinking about it, because he seriously doubted that he and Sunggyu could ever be like that if they got together.

He and Sunggyu had reached a critical point in their relationship. They liked each other. There was potential that they could be something more than friends. But should they? Right now, it was possible to end things at a ‘some’ (or a ‘not nothing’ as Kate put it). Woohyun could even try to enlist in the army and disappear for a few years. That would surely put an end to all of this and give them both enough time to move on (if they could). Would that be better?

Woohyun’s doubts could easily be summed up like this: he didn’t know if he was what Sunggyu needed right now. With the way things were now, Sunggyu would need a lot of care and understanding. It wasn’t going to be easy to deal with. It would be a constant struggle, mostly because Woohyun needed a lot of care too. Normally, Woohyun craved attention and affection, but now, that desire increased. Although Sunggyu had the worst of it, Woohyun came out of this whole ordeal with scars of his own, on his body and soul. What if didn’t get that attention he craved? What if he was neglected? What if he was the only one that gave in the relationship and Sunggyu just took? What if Sunggyu wasn’t what he needed now either?

It felt really risky. And had these things not happen, if they’d been living life as they used to, Woohyun would’ve taken the risk without second thought. He would’ve tried to date Sunggyu. But now it seemed cruel to try, to give Sunggyu support and love, only to take it away if they ever broke up. Woohyun could break him even further. It was really risky. Sunggyu could break him too, if the elder decided that this Woohyun wasn’t what he wanted, that this Woohyun was unlovable for him. It was risky because they were different people now than they were at the beginning.

Woohyun hazarded a glance up at the television screen again. It was just the weather report right now. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. _And I’ll be spending all day inside_ , Woohyun caught himself thinking. Once he realized it, he laughed to himself. Here he was debating if he should be with Sunggyu or not, but he still never left his ‘side’ and wasn’t planning on it. All of this reminded Woohyun of the time when he was in doubt about whether he was gay or not. It was the same bouncing back-and-forth tennis match that he had in his mind. _I’m not, am I?_ Well, he was, and no flood of doubt could wash that fact away. So he followed his heart, and overall, he was happier for it, happier that he admitted who he was and not fighting against it. And now, Woohyun should do the same as he did back then: stop fighting with himself and just follow his heart. And his heart wanted Sunggyu. Even though this Sunggyu wasn’t ideal and was probably different. He was still Sunggyu and was still precious to Woohyun (and probably even more so now because Woohyun was grateful that the other was alive).

And Woohyun was just going to have to take the risk and hope that Sunggyu felt the same way.

They weren't normal now, they'll probably never get back to normal, but they'll find a new normal together.

* * *

The first thing he noticed was that it was bright, painfully so. It pierced through his eyelids like daggers, making his head throb. No, his whole body was throbbing in pain, especially his ears. It was so loud, and all Sunggyu wanted to do was sleep. But he couldn’t it, not with those voices yammering in his ears. But at least whoever it was was now looming over him and blocking out the light. Who were they anyway?

“Oh! He’s moving!” Ah, that would be Sungyeol.

“Sunggyu? Oppa?” And Kate too was there, and was surprisingly acting respectfully. She must really be feeling bad for him. “Are you awake?”

“No, it’s another false alarm,” Sungyeol grumbled. He must’ve leaned away because the light was piercing through Sunggyu’s eyelids again.

“I’m getting tired of those.” But who was that? Sunggyu sharpened his ears, no matter how much it hurt. “I can’t believe he got hit by a car.”

“I know,” Sungyeol sounded annoyed. “You’ve been saying that all morning.”

“It doesn’t make it any less...unbelievable,” the other man struggled to defend himself. But then the words came out more easily: “I thought this shit only happened in dramas. People suddenly getting hit by car.” He let out a sigh so heavy that Sunggyu felt it brush against his skin. “Are you sure they checked him everywhere? Isn’t this taking too long? Maybe he has brain damage.”

“They checked him everywhere, Woohyun.” What? It was Woohyun? He was actually there and  Sunggyu didn’t imagine it? Sunggyu moved his head to the side slightly to hear them better. Kate continued in a tired voice, “His pretty head is fine.”

“I don’t want there to be complications that’ll…”

“Not everyone who gets hit by a car has to die,” Sungyeol cut Woohyun off.

“Not everyone gets hit by a car!” Woohyun spat back, very loudly.

“Too loud,” Sunggyu muttered out of reflex as he winced. He then sensed everything getting tense. Crap, he exposed himself. Sunggyu let out a huff and mumbled, scarcely moving his lips, “Shut up.”

“Sunggyu!” they all exclaimed in unison, not listening to what he just said. And so Sunggyu was finally going to make the effort and open his eyes just to glare at them.

“I’ll go tell someone,” Kate offered. And when Sunggyu managed to flutter his eyes open, he saw Kate already turning to leave the room.

“Oh! His eyes are open!” Woohyun exclaimed. Sunggyu then looked over at him through his eyelashes. Woohyun was the only one sitting down and was the closest to him. And now he was only getting closer to Sunggyu as Woohyun leaned over him to check. “Maybe...oh yea they’re open,” he announced with a smile. He then sat back down and craned his neck back. “Kate!” he called after her. But she was nowhere in sight. So he looked over at Sungyeol. “She already left.”

“It’s okay,” Sunggyu mumbled. “She doesn’t care.” The two others looked down at him, confused. They didn’t realize that Sunggyu was joking. He frowned. Everything was awkward now, and he really did mean everything. Their gazes were burdensome. He could barely make things out in this bright light. He was panting as if he’d finished running a marathon. And he just felt this weight over every inch of his body, pressing him down further onto the bed, constraining him, especially around his hand. So he shook it, and the weight came off. He then also saw Woohyun wiggling in his seat, putting his hands in his lap. _Don’t tell me…Wait, his face._

“How are you feeling?” Sungyeol interjected.

“Hurt,” Sunggyu answered curtly. He then focused on Woohyun, narrowing his eyes. “What happened to you?”

“Huh?” Woohyun froze.

“Cut,” Sunggyu replied and raised a finger millimeters from the bed but at Woohyun, not like he could see it, but Sunggyu’s unfaltering stare at the scratches across Woohyun’s round cheeks. Some were even close to his eyes.

Woohyun ignored Sunggyu, or maybe he couldn’t hear him. But then, Sungyeol nudged him and Woohyun glanced over. It was difficult to make out, but Sunggyu guessed that Sungyeol mouthed ‘didn’t tell him?’ And Sunggyu could perfectly make out that slight shake of Woohyun’s head, and he looked over at the patient out of the corner of his eye anxiously. _What’s going on?_ “Hyung, can you feel this?” Sungyeol shouted as he punched the other in the arm.

“Ow!” Sunggyu yelped, flinching. Maybe calling it a ‘punch’ was exaggerating, but damn it hurt like one. “Shit, yes.”

“That’s a good sign, isn’t it?” Sungyeol asked, not even looking at Sunggyu but Woohyun, who nodded back.

“Can you feel this?” Woohyun joined in and poked a finger into his side.

“Stop!” Sunggyu yelled as loud as he could.

“How about we have the professionals do the check up?” Kate couldn’t have come in at a better time, ushering in the doctor and nurse. Sunggyu put his head back down on the pillow and saw her smile at him. He thinks he managed to smile back, but it might’ve just been a slight facial spasm. This was going to take some getting used to. His body really didn’t feel like his own now, even less so with the doctor and nurse performing the check up on his, reading off his vitals as if they were his exam scores (and an exam that he just barely passed too). But all of this was better than the alternative, and much better since he had friends at his side.

When they finished check up, the doctor and nurse left again after giving Sunggyu an incentive spirometer to take in deep breaths. It felt weird using it with his three friends watching, so intently. You’d think that Sunggyu inhaling from that tube was the biggest game of the year because they were a little too encouraging with their words and they all actually clapped when he finished his exercises. _Why are they so weird?_ Sunggyu thought as he put the spirometer down. Now he was actually smiling. The deep breathing also helped to clear his head, even though he was constantly growing more and more tired. It was a struggle to keep his eyes open, but he didn’t want to shut them yet, not when everyone else was still there.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Kate stated. She was now sitting next to him too, but on the other side. She took the spirometer and put it on the table nearby. “You look like you need to sleep.”

Sunggyu whined, “No, not yet.”

His friend caught on quickly. “You want to eat?” Sungyeol asked with a slight chuckle.

“Eung,” Sunggyu grunted.

“I’ll go pick up something for you,” Sungyeol offered and began to make his way to the other side of the bed. There was something else that wanted to ‘pick up.’

“Thank you,” Sunggyu muttered as he shifted up onto his bed.

Sungyeol was now by Kate’s side. He placed his hand onto her shoulders. “Come on,” he urged her, moving his hands up and down.

However, she was reluctant to leave. “But…” Kate began to argue, her gaze flitting back and forth between her boyfriend and her oldest friend. This wasn’t such a huge dilemma as she was making it out to be because...

“Woohyun can look after him,” Sungyeol pointed out. He was astute as always; he noticed that it was time to give the two men some time alone. But Kate was being obtuse. Luckily, Sungyeol knew how to work her. He lifted his hands off of her shoulders with one big pat and then began walking away. Kate then began whipping her head back and forth between the two of them and finally jumped up when Sungyeol called back to her with a grin, “Come on, lackey!”

“Okay!” she responded and chased after him out of the door. “Since when am I _your_ lackey?” Kate asked when she caught up to his side and wrapped her arm around his.

“Ever since you started responding to it,” Sungyeol teased her and then the two of them were gone.

And once they were, Woohyun slumped over onto the bed, head brushing against Sunggyu’s side as he nuzzled into it. “Jesus Christ!” his swearing was muffled by the sheets. He then turned to look up at Sunggyu, with his cheek still pressed into the sheets. “Can you just stop almost dying? I swear, you get into near death situations more than a lead in a drama,” he begged of him. “Can you just stop? I don’t think my heart can take it anymore.”

“I just broke my leg,” Sunggyu replied with a forced smile, acting like that was the only part of his body in pain. Truth be told, only one leg was completely broken. The other one wasn’t much better, but it would heal more quickly.

Woohyun propped himself up and was frowning deeply. “Yea after getting hit by a car!” he argued.

“Not everyone who gets hit by a car has to die,” Sunggyu kept his voice level.

And his calmness (or resignation) was starting to rub off onto Woohyun. The younger fell back into his seat, but he was having a hard time controlling himself. His whole body was practically vibrating from nerves. “Yea, well, but still,” he was stuttering over his words. He then glared at Sunggyu out of the corner of his eyes. “You were lucky.”

“Really lucky,” Sunggyu immediately agreed. Woohyun faced him head on, looking at the elder as if he were crazy. So Sunggyu clarified, “I think they got the guy.”

Woohyun nodded and bowed his head again. “They did. It was even on the news,” he spoke so lowly that Sunggyu almost didn’t catch it.

Sunggyu fell back onto his pillow. “It’s a relief,” he breathed out.

“It is,” Woohyun agreed, but he didn’t sound as relieved as Sunggyu was, as he should’ve been. Sunggyu lifted himself up again and stared at the other. When Woohyun noticed the stares, he turned towards the elder, giving him a one-second grin, and patted his hand, as if to tell Sunggyu that he did a good job.

But it was one of those extremely rare instances when Sunggyu didn’t want praise. He’d much rather prefer to have answers from the younger, especially since Woohyun was being so avoidant and careful not to have his face in Sunggyu’s full view for so long. “So are you ever going to tell me what happened?” Sunggyu finally asked. “To your face?”

Woohyun scoffed but still wasn’t facing the other. “That’s not nice to say. I haven’t been getting much sleep lately. I know I gained some weight, but...”

“That’s not what I meant,” Sunggyu cut him off, even with his raspy voice. It stopped Woohyun, literally. He froze, but melted seconds later. He still couldn’t look at Sunggyu though, his eyes were down at his hands which were playing with Sunggyu’s fingers, but he finally gave an answer.

“He threw a brick at my parents’ shop. At me.”

“What? When?” the questions came out too forcefully and sent Sunggyu into a coughing fit, but he kept his hands right where they were.

“A few days ago,” Woohyun replied and gripped onto those fingers.

Sunggyu did the same and asked. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Woohyun swallowed harshly before answering, “You were with your parents and…”

“Sh,” Sunggyu cut him off. He didn’t want to hear any excuses, not when he saw the real answer. Woohyun wasn’t planning on ever telling him.

“But...” Woohyun started up again but Sunggyu ended it in just the same way.

“Sh,” he hushed the younger. He fell back onto the pillow. “I'm tired.”

“Then get some sleep,” Woohyun whispered back to the other, letting go of his hand and then patting it.

Sunggyu shook his head on the pillow, rolling it back and forth. “I'm tired of this,” he said to the other as he was still staring up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes. “Woohyun, I thought we were past this.” Or at least they thought they were or should be by this point. _Was I really that mistaken?_ Sunggyu was started to feel rejected again, like he was in the bathroom that night, when Woohyun literally slipped out from under him. “Be _honest_ with me, please,” he growled through gritted teeth. He was fed up.

“I didn't want you to worry. I didn't want you to get scared,” and there it was, the honesty. But it didn’t make Sunggyu feel better like he thought it would. If he was fed up before, now he was fed up to the point of vomiting.

And so the words came out that way: “What if I want those things?”

“You want to be scared?” Woohyun asked with a chuckle, turning this into a joke.

So Sunggyu just gave up. “I don't know what I'm saying,” he mumbled, taking his hand away and crossing his arms over his chest, or tried until he realized that he couldn’t with the I.V.. Sunggyu gave up once more, on the brink of giving up on life, and turned away from the other.

“Rest for a bit, hm?” Woohyun spoke with a groan. Sunggyu heard some creaking too. _He must’ve gotten up_. Sunggyu frowned. “I'll tell you when Kate and Yeol come back,” his voice sounded strained, so Sunggyu craned his neck to look back at him. Woohyun was just stretching. There was nothing wrong with him, except that weird smile that he was giving the elder now. “Is there anything else I can do for you?” Woohyun offered.

“Eung,” Sunggyu replied and then paused, waiting for the other to come closer, which he eventually did. Good, Sunggyu didn’t want to say this loudly. He could barely just say it in the first place: “Stay.” Woohyun pulled back. Why did he look so stunned by the request? Sunggyu tried not to seem discouraged by the reaction. “Hospitals are boring, and now that Sungyeol’s with Kate…”

“They’re gross,” Woohyun filled in with a bright and actually genuine smile. And mostly importantly, he sat back down.

“Right?!” Sunggyu exclaimed too excitedly and started coughing again. But he kept smiling through it. “I never thought Sungyeol would be so cheesy. I always knew Kate had it in her. But I’m disappointed in him,” he joked.

“Maybe Kate infected him,” Woohyun played along.

Sunggyu scoffed. “If being cheesy is a disease, then you’re patient zero,” he teased. “You’re the worst.”

“But the worst in the best way, right?” Woohyun asked.

Sunggyu paused for a second as he thought it over. “It depends on what you do,” he concluded.

Woohyun chuckled, a bit stiltedly. “Good answer,” he retorted. He then took in a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms up into the air. “You should get some sleep,” he spoke through a yawn. He dropped his arms. “And I’ll be right here, watching you sleep like you wanted me to,” Woohyun said cheekily.

“I never asked for that,” Sunggyu whined.

Woohyun put his hands on the armrest, about the lift himself out of the chair. “Should I leave then?” he challenged.

“No, no, no,” Sunggyu greatly denied. “Stay, but don’t look at me,” he ordered. Woohyun fell back in the chair and covered his eyes with his hands, ‘obeying.’ Sunggyu groaned but it turned into giggles, and then small coughs. “Just sleep too. You look like you need it too,” he suggested through wheezes.

Woohyun lowered his hands. And judging by that cheeky expression, Sunggyu knew that nothing good was going to come out of his mouth now. “Alright, let’s do that. Let’s sleep together.” And Sunggyu was right.

“Go to sleep so that I don’t have to listen to you anymore,” the elder retorted, closing his eyes.

“Okay!”

* * *

That nap didn’t last for more than an hour before Kate and Sungyeol came back with their booming voices and food. The first woke Sunggyu up and the second kept him awake. They chatted as they all ate, and Sunggyu was actually enjoying it, maybe too much. Laughing was painful now, but it also didn’t stop. He was just grateful to be alive, and with that man behind bars now, he’d stay that way for a long time. And he was happy.

Before they all knew it, the sun was setting and visiting hours were over. But one of them was allowed to stay the night with him. And that had already been decided for him. Woohyun pulled out an overnight bag and announced to the staff that he’d be staying behind. After that, Kate and Sungyeol left, leaving the other two behind in an awkward silence. Sunggyu and Woohyun just stared at each other for a few moments before Woohyun said that he’d get ready for bed and that Sunggyu should sleep. Sunggyu nodded and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, Woohyun had made a makeshift bed with the chairs and threw a blanket over himself. His eyes were closed, appearing to be asleep. Sunggyu shifted in the bed, trying to roll over onto his side, which seemed nearly impossible and very painful, but he still tried. He wanted to see the younger better.

“Stop moving,” when Sunggyu heard the younger speak, he did immediately freeze. Woohyun wasn’t fast asleep like he thought he was. The younger squirmed in his own ‘bed’ and lifted the blanket up higher. But he continued talking to the other with his eyes closed, “You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“I want to see you,” Sunggyu whispered back. And while it did hurt to be on his side, it took him so much effort to get into this position that he wasn’t about to flip over again onto his back.

However, his comment got Woohyun to open his eyes. “Why?” the younger asked.

“Woohyun, do you like me?” Late at night in a shared hospital room probably wasn’t the best time to have this conversation. When had time ever been on their side? This conversation kept being put off over and over and over again. And in the meantime, it seemed like they’d both made their decision about how they should progress. It was now time to finally say it. But the problem now is how to get the wolf stop from barking and take this conversation seriously.

“As a friend? Yes,” Woohyun was ‘barking’ nonsense again and cheekily flashing his fangs.

So Sunggyu asked a more biting question, glaring at the other with his sharp eyes, “What about not as a friend?”

“As a person?” Woohyun asked. Sunggyu nodded slightly. The younger looked down at his blankets as he fiddled with them again. “You’re okay.”

“Forget it,” Sunggyu was annoyed. One more time, they were going to have to push back this conversation one more time. And hopefully then, Woohyun would take this, and Sunggyu, more seriously. For now, Sunggyu would try to sleep and forget about all of this (or pretend like it was all a dream). He rolled onto his back again, groaning all of the while.

After laying like that for a few minutes, Sunggyu assumed that Woohyun had already fallen back asleep, but he was wrong. There was a weight on his bed now, arms brushing up against his, and soft breaths caressing his face. Woohyun had leaned out of his chairs and propped himself onto Sunggyu’s bed. “Are you asleep?” he whispered.

“Well, I’m trying too,” Sunggyu grumbled back, screwing his eyes shut. He was too annoyed with the younger right now and didn’t want to give Woohyun anymore opportunity to test his patience anymore.

“Okay then, keep your eyes closed,” Woohyun responded. But Sunggyu did just the opposite. He opened them up as wide as he could and turned towards the younger, who was seriously a lot closer to him than he thought. Woohyun was so close that almost all that Sunggyu could see was his grin when he reprimanded the elder, “I told you, keep them closed.”

Sunggyu still wouldn’t. “You’re not going to do anything weird, are you?” he murmured back.

“Oh, I am,” the younger answered too honestly.

But it made Sunggyu snort and smile until his eyes were closed. And so he kept them that way. He shifted in his spot. “Okay, but if you do anything too weird, I _will_ hit you,” he warned.

“I know,” Woohyun breathed out along with a sigh. “It’s just...easier like this.” Whatever Woohyun wanted to do must’ve been hard for him. He stayed still for a minute, then two, making Sunggyu feel incredibly awkward. _Did he fall asleep? Or is he playing with me? What is he doing?_ Sunggyu almost opened his eyes to check but then he felt a hand brush against his bangs, moving the hair away from his face. Woohyun was holding his breath (he must’ve because Sunggyu couldn’t feel it) as he leaned in closer and closer. The tip of his nose brushed against Sunggyu’s hair, and he whispered into Sunggyu’s ear, “I like you.” Now Sunggyu held his breath as Woohyun pressed a kiss onto his temple. The younger than pulled away, his hand still moving Sunggyu’s hair. “So stop almost dying, okay?” Sunggyu felt Woohyun move again, and so did he. He moved his head to the side. And they both collided, painfully. Sunggyu’s nose was throbbing now. When he opened his eyes, and after blinking away tears, he saw Woohyun rubbing his own nose.

“Are you okay?” Sunggyu whispered.

“I guess that was too weird, huh?” Woohyun responded with his own question. He lowered his hand and sniffed a couple of times, as if he was trying to see if it still worked.

“What?” Sunggyu mumbled.

“You hit me,” Woohyun explained. He then took one long sniff, which was apparently too much for his sore nose now. He winced and began rubbing it again. “Aish. My nose.”

Sunggyu put his head back down and stared at the ceiling. “I didn’t mean to. That’s not what I wanted to do,” he spoke below his breath.

“What were you trying to do? Maim me?” Woohyun teased and then sneezed a couple of times after rubbing his nose too hard.

“No, I...I wanted to...I was trying,” Sunggyu was stumbling over his words and then decided to drop them all together. He closed his eyes, hoping that this was all just a dream. It wasn’t. When he opened them again, he saw the same drab hospital ceiling and heard Woohyun sneezing again.

“What?” Woohyun sniveled, prodding the other to continue.

“It’s not a good time,” Sunggyu knew that from the beginning and yet he still tried. “People are trying to sleep. We should sleep too.” He settled into the bed again and pulled his sheets up higher. “Good night.”

However, he couldn’t go to sleep because there was an incessant poking at his side. “When will it be a good time? Hm?” Woohyun hissed. Sunggyu opened his eyes again and glanced over at him. Woohyun was beaming. “When will it be a good time to kiss me back?” he asked. Sunggyu groaned and turned away. But Woohyun continued to gloat, “Yea, I knew. Why else would you be turning towards me at that moment?”

“Then why did you ask?” Sunggyu whined a bit too loudly. The other patient in the room began stirring. So he tucked his lips into his mouth and glared at Woohyun.

“I felt awkward. And I wanted to hear you say it,” Woohyun mumbled lowly, pouting. He wasn’t looking at Sunggyu anymore but down at his hands on the bed. Sunggyu watched him, eyes fixed on that pout. His own lips fell out from behind his teeth. Maybe now, he could do things right and...Woohyun raised his head again, “But it’s not the time for it now.” The other patient in the room was grumbling lowly as if agreeing with what Woohyun said. And so the younger just flashed Sunggyu a smile and returned back to his own ‘bed,’ snuggling underneath his blanket.

And Sunggyu watched him settle in and close his eyes. It wasn’t the right time for this. It was probably one of the worst times to do this, but Sunggyu didn’t know when he’d have the courage to say (even though Woohyun said it first). “Nam Woohyun?” he called out to the other in a light whisper.

“Hm?” the other hummed.

“I like you.”

Woohyun kept his eyes closed but grinned with that toothy, wolfish smile. “Go to sleep,” was all he said in response but his smile was more than enough to let Sunggyu go to sleep satisfied.

They were openly going to like each other and he couldn’t be upset by that. No, he was really really happy.

* * *

The next day, Sunggyu felt more awake and had more energy, which was good because he was hit with wave after wave of visitors. The police, Joohyuk and his partner, came to brief Sunggyu about the situation so far and of course to check up on him. The prosecution office was compiling a case against the attacker, which was proving to be more difficult than they supposed it would be. The cashier refused to confess and denied being involved with the attacks. So after being discharged, Sunggyu would have to go into the station and give an official statement. For now, the attacker was being held for attempted manslaughter, and everyone was much safer for that.

Next, the Conversational English Club came. It seemed like Sungyeol and Kate gave them a briefing of their own. No one asked what happened. No one talked about the arrest, even though it was the hot topic of conversation recently. They just all happily chatted about mundane things and gave Sunggyu snacks. And they left after a little over an hour so that Sunggyu could get some rest.

The woman whose car hit him came and begged for forgiveness. She’d only learned how to drive recently in order to take her mother-in-law to her doctor’s appointments. And now she was scared to drive ever again. She even promised Sunggyu that she wouldn’t. Sunggyu told her that it was a needless worry. It wasn’t her fault, and he was still alive, just a bit broken. Sunggyu hoped that she left with a changed mind, but he wasn’t sure. However, she did leave with his forgiveness, and that was enough for now.

The final visitor wasn’t as tiring as she was healing. His mother appeared in the doorway and Sunggyu unconsciously called out for her. She came back to Seoul as quickly as she could. She lamented about how Sunggyu couldn’t even stay safe for one more day before coming home. “Seoul is a very dangerous place!” she concluded. She also succeeded in getting Sunggyu to promise to come home once he was discharged. Sadly, given everything, Sunggyu would still have to withdraw from school for awhile. And there was no better place for him to heal than at home, even though he’d be leaving behind some things and people that he would rather not.

When everyone left for him to sleep, Sunggyu called for a nurse to help him into a wheelchair. Joohyuk told Sunggyu that Jinyoung was also at this hospital a few wards away. The cop visited Jinyoung before going into Sunggyu’s room. It was a short visit, given that Jinyoung was comatose. “Possibly brain dead,” Joohyuk added. “But I’m not a doctor, so who knows for sure.” The cop ‘told’ Jinyoung that the culprit had been arrested, and then he left to see Sunggyu.

Ever since then, Sunggyu couldn’t get the image of the neighbor out of his mind, Jinyoung’s warm face, and then that dark alley where he was found. Maybe seeing Jinyoung would put his mind at ease.

The nurse gave him directions to the ward, and Sunggyu wheeled himself over there, by himself. It was the first time that he was entirely alone since entering the hospital. And he kept waffling back and forth whether he liked it or not. He felt like he didn’t have to control his reactions anymore; he felt less restrained. But then again, he was exposed. So many eyes were on him and not a person by his side to deflect them. He found himself wishing that he had his mom by his side again, that she had never left. He thought about turning back, but quickly refuted it. _No, I have to go. I have to do this. I have to see him._

_He’s like me. He could’ve been me. I need to see this._

And before he realized it, he was in front of Jinyoung’s room. _This is it._ Sunggyu gathered up the courage to go in, but right as he was about to, his hands froze, hovering over the wheels. Someone in the room was crying. _I thought...I thought he was in a coma. Ah, wait. That’s a woman crying! But a woman visiting Jinyoung? Huh? Is there another patient in the room?_ Sunggyu rolled himself closer to the room to see, but he was stopped again before he was at the doorway. He heard a man’s voice.

“Doctor, we’ve decided to do it,” Sunggyu overheard. “We were waiting for the arrest so that he could pass away in peace. His parents will come by later tonight to say their goodbyes.”

“Oh,” Sunggyu assumed that was the doctor. “Since you were his guardian I assumed that his parents had passed away.”

“No, there were some circumstances that caused a rift between them, but…” the first man sighed. “But they’re coming later today. They promised. So after that…” he couldn’t finish that sentence but the doctor did for him.

“Yes, after that, we will take him off of life support and he should pass away peacefully in his sleep.” _What?_ Sunggyu froze, and the soft crying in the room turned into a wail, which grew louder and louder until a woman came out of the room.

The woman took no notice of Sunggyu, who was trying to back up down the hall. She leaned against the wall, hands to her face as she was trying hard to control herself. Sunggyu knew that he probably shouldn’t watch, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She was crying so bitterly. _She must be his sister. She must really loved Jinyoung_. After a few heaves she lowered her hands and threw her head back against the wall, over and over again. “Get a hold of yourself,” she reprimanded herself. “Why are you like this? He's all yours now.” _Wait a second._ Sunggyu cocked his head as he glanced down at her hand. There was a golden band around her ring finger. _She’s not the sister but_...The woman broke into another sob and she covered her eyes with her arm. “But...don’t want Jinyoung to go. Aish! What is this?” With that lament, she rushed down the hallway. She had to get away from the situation, from Jinyoung and her husband.

When Sunggyu rolled himself back up into the room, the doctor left along with the nurse. So when Sunggyu peered into the room, all that he saw was Jinyoung laying in his bed with his lover by his side, the same lover that Sunggyu often caught sneaking out of his apartment. Sunggyu glanced down the hall again, where the woman had gone. The three of them shared such a twisted fate. Sunggyu probably couldn’t begin to understand it. Actually he was having a hard time understanding any of this. Sunggyu peered into the room again. The lover was holding Jinyoung’s hand in both of his and kissed him tenderly on the forehead. _If you love him, then..._ The man was now brushing his hair away from Jinyoung’s sleeping face, probably similarly to how Woohyun did it the night before. _How could you do this?_

Sunggyu rolled himself down the hall while saying a prayer for all of their souls, for Jinyoung so that he could pass safely and for the lover who’d have to live with this decision for the rest of his life.

 _I shouldn’t have come. I shouldn’t have seen that_.

* * *

Luckily for his sanity, he had one more visitor when he came back into his room. Myungsoo was there with a box of red ginseng and a great, warm hug for Sunggyu. He was able to distract his hyung with tales from his training at his company and of the celebrities that he met. His visit didn’t last long though. Myungsoo had a lesson to attend. Before he left, he promised to visit Sunggyu again when he was discharged, more specifically he said, “I’ll see you at home.”

That was right. Sunggyu was going to be discharged tomorrow. He hadn’t thought yet about where he was going to stay. With _him_ behind bars, Sunggyu didn’t need to stay at Kate’s place anymore, but going ‘home’ didn’t sit well with him. Then again, it would only be for a night or two before he’d be actually home, in Jeonju. I can handle that. So Sunggyu agreed to see Myungsoo then. And with that, the actor in training left. Sunggyu was alone once more, with nothing more to do but to dwell on everything that had passed, until someone else came to relieve him.

That someone was his mother. Woohyun didn’t come back to see him.

* * *

But Woohyun came the following day, when Sunggyu was being discharged. Or at least he thought Woohyun was there. There were a lot of people in the room. His mother, Kate, and Sungyeol were there, and the other patient in the room was being visited by his family too. His doctor there, giving him instructions and performing one last check-up before sending him on his way. Several nurses came by to give him their goodbye. Before he knew it, Sunggyu was being pushed out the door. He could see Kate, Sungyeol, and his mother in front of him, so the one pushing had to be Woohyun. But why was he being so quiet? Whenever Sunggyu tried to look back to see him, someone in the front would call out for his attention. Those three, they seemed to be more excited about Sunggyu’s discharge than he was. They were talking non-stop and kidding around. Sunggyu tried to take part in it, but he also felt like he was struggling to keep his head above water. If it was possible to be too doted upon, it was happening right now. Sunggyu didn’t know who to pay attention to, what question to answer, or where he should even look.

And now he was being helped into Sungyeol’s car, or gingerly shoved into the front seat. Sunggyu looked about him, watching where everyone else was going. Sungyeol was driving, of course. Kate sat behind her boyfriend. His mother was right next to her, in the middle seat, which Sunggyu thought was weird, until his mother scooted forward so that she was practically in between Sungyeol and Sunggyu, as close to her son as she could get. Sunggyu smiled at her and then looked forward. _That would mean that he’s behind me,_ he concluded and pulled down the visor so that he could use the mirror to check the seat behind him.

Sungyeol flipped the visor back up. “Trust me, hyung. It’s better that you don’t see what you look like now,” he teased and then got ready to back up the car. Sunggyu responded with a glare. _That wasn’t what I was trying to do, and I look fine_ , he bit his cheek to hold that back. Okay, so he didn’t look ‘fine’ per se, but for a man that went through what he did, Sunggyu looked amazing.

But Sunggyu didn’t have much time for glaring. His mother was talking to him again, this time about all of the things that they could do when Sunggyu came back to Jeonju. That’s when he felt a kick hit the back of his seat. Yup, Woohyun was definitely behind him, and this was the first time he’d heard about Sunggyu leaving. He didn’t even know about Sunggyu planning to leave before getting hit by the car. _Is he mad?_ Sunggyu tried to look behind him but was only met with his mother’s smile. He faced forward again. _He probably is. I’d be mad too._

No matter how he was feeling, Woohyun mumbled out an apology, and Sunggyu swore that those were the first words that Woohyun said to him all day.

If Sunggyu was struggling to keep his head above water when he was discharged, then he was drowning when he got to his apartment. Everyone was in a flurry to settle him in. Since Sunggyu lived on the upper floors, they abandoned the wheelchair and Sungyeol carried him up the stairs on his back. Once inside, Sunggyu was plopped into a seat in his kitchen, and his mother insisted on showing him all of the dishes that she prepared for him and how to heat them up.

“But I’m not even going to be here for that much longer,” Sunggyu whined. “Why did you get this much food?”

“If you don’t finish it, give it to Kate,” his mother reasoned. “I needed something to do while you slept. So I filled the fridge.”

“Okay,” Sunggyu yielded.

“Auntie,” a loud voice came from the living room. Sunggyu whipped his head around to see who it was, but it was just Sungyeol. “We have to go soon if you want to make your bus,” Sungyeol reminded her.

“Ah that’s right,” the mother mumbled under her breath, but it was obvious that she didn’t want to leave just yet. “Baby, do you think you’ll be okay? I can stay a bit longer until you’re ready to come back with me.”

Sunggyu shook his head. “You need to be home now. I’ll be fine,” he tried to assure her. “He can’t hurt me anymore.”

“That’s true, but I still feel anxious about this,” she responded, not leaving her spot by her son’s side.

“Don’t worry,” now Kate had popped into the kitchen. “We’ll make sure that he’s _very_ well taken care of.” Her words seemed to put the mother at ease, and the old woman began to collect her things. Kate helped. “Come on, let’s go! Sunggyu will be with you soon, right?”

“Right,” Sunggyu answered in a distracted voice. He was searching for the only person not in his kitchen. But his search was cut short when he was pulled into his mother’s embrace. They said their goodbyes, and then she left with Kate and Sungyeol for the bus station.

Now Sunggyu was the only one left in his kitchen. And he seemed to be the only one in his apartment, until his bathroom door opened up and Woohyun stepped out of it, rubbing his hands dry.

Their eyes met for what seemed to be the first time that day, and Woohyun quickly broke it and looked about the apartment, confused. “Where did everyone go?” he stammered.

“To drop my mom off,” Sunggyu was curt in his reply.

“O-oh,” Woohyun muttered. He was still only a foot outside of the bathroom. “I didn’t get to say goodbye to her.” He then looked back up to Sunggyu and let out an embarrassed chuckle. “I’m not even sure if she knows who I am.”

“She will,” Sunggyu assured him, and that seemed to make the younger relax. Woohyun began walking towards him in any case. But Sunggyu made him stop again. “Hey.”

“What?” Woohyun blubbered and froze in his step.

“If I was brain dead and on life support, would you pull the plug on me?”

“What?” Woohyun asked, blinking in disbelief. He walked into the kitchen, probably thinking that he didn’t hear him correctly. But he did. And Sunggyu repeated the question. Woohyun still seemed just as flabbergasted, but tried to give him an answer, “I don't know. I really don't know. I mean, guessing about the situation is far, far, _far_ different from living through it. I can't tell you what decision I'd make then.” Woohyun was completely honest, but Sunggyu probably would’ve preferred a white lie right now in order to stop having these dark thoughts plaguing him. Why? Why couldn’t he get those thoughts out of his head? And why couldn’t Woohyun just say ‘no’? “But I can tell you this,” Woohyun interrupted his thoughts. His hand went down to grab Sunggyu’s. “If anything else bad were to happen to you, I'd die.”

The elder scoffed and threw the other’s hand away, “Don't exaggerate.”

“I'm not! I would! I'd die!” Woohyun exclaimed, hands to his chest, and he dropped to one knee at Sunggyu’s side. “You make my heart race, and more often than not, it's not in a good way.”

And Sunggyu could see that. Even now, Woohyun looked flushed and was breathing heavily. He was anxious just because of Sunggyu’s question. And he didn’t even know what kind of shape that Woohyun was in when he heard Sunggyu was hit by a car. No, Sunggyu did. _I don’t think my heart can take it anymore_ , that was what Woohyun said when Sunggyu woke up after his surgery. _I might actually send this kid into an early grave_.

“I'm sorry,” Sunggyu murmured, hanging his head.

“No. I, ugh, I'm sorry,” Woohyun apologized as he stood back up. “I'm not blaming you. None of this is your fault,” he grew more flustered at every word. “If anything, I’m…”

Sunggyu stopped him: “Can we not argue about who is more sorry?” Now he was starting to feel guilty that Woohyun felt guilty and this could really be an endless cycle of apologies.

“Yea, I'm sorry,” it came out as a reflex. As soon as he realized what he said, Woohyun swore, “Aish, sorry!” He then plopped down into the seat next to Sunggyu, tearing at his hair with his hands. “Oh my god, I can't stop! Sorry!” Sunggyu laughed. Now Woohyun was riding through that endless cycle by himself. Sunggyu should just pull him out of it, but it was also cute to watch. However, Woohyun, piqued by Sunggyu’s laughter, managed to scramble out of the cycle on his own. “What?”

Now, right now with Woohyun staring at him with that frustrated pout, with their faces this close, and with no one else nearby, it was finally the perfect time. And Sunggyu couldn’t hold it back anymore. He kissed him, softly, perfectly for their first time. When he pulled away, Woohyun asked, “What was that for?”

It would take too long to explain, so Sunggyu shrugged and said, “Just wanted to.”

Woohyun’s gaze fluttered back and forth from the other’s eyes to his lips. “Do you want to do it again?” he asked in a low voice.

“Hm, nope,” Sunggyu pretended like he put some thought into that question, but he really didn’t. He just wanted to make Woohyun’s heart race in a good way, and judging by Woohyun’s peeved but happy expression, he did. Woohyun’s heart was going to be just fine from now on. Sunggyu’s too. They'd be just fine together. But maybe they'd be even better somewhere else.

“Woohyun, can you help me get to my bed?”

* * *

Sunggyu’s apartment was small. He had very few places to sit that weren't the floor or the chairs at his kitchen table. So the two of them would have to make do with sitting on his bed, which they couldn't do very well. Sunggyu took up a lot of space, with his cast and legs outstretched as he sat across the bed with his back against the wall. Maybe he took up too much space because Woohyun was just standing there, watching Sunggyu settle in. He didn't even move when Sunggyu patted the spot next to him, so Sunggyu just acted like he was wiping his hands on the sheets rather than silently asking for Woohyun to sit next to him.

“What?” Sunggyu grumbled, now rubbing hands on his thighs. Wow, they were really sweaty now.

“Why did you ask that question? About life support?”

Sunggyu stuffed his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and sighed when their gazes met. He then nodded over to the spot next to him. “If you sit down with me, I'll tell you,” he bargained. Woohyun followed through with it, maybe too eagerly. He climbed onto the bed on all fours and when he settled down, he looked up to the other in anticipation. Sunggyu couldn't even smile at that. His mind was already back to that hospital ward. He began, “I went to see Jinyoung…”

Sunggyu told Woohyun everything. He described Jang Jinyoung, what kind of person the neighbor was and who he loved. He revealed to Woohyun that Jinyoung’s attack made Sunggyu realize that he could be next, made him paranoid. Through Jinyoung, he found out that the cashier wasn't just an attacker but a killer. And things could've gone so so much worse for Sunggyu. And it made him deadly curious. If he was comatose, who would be at his side? How would they talk about him? What if he went to sleep and could never wake up again? Sunggyu couldn't stop himself from imagining him as Jinyoung in that hospital bed, hooked up to wires and unable to breathe on his own. Would anyone cry for him? Would anyone miss him?

Okay, so he didn't say all of that. Sunggyu was barely able to narrate what he saw. It was hard. However, he did say that he related to Jinyoung and he couldn't stop thinking about what happened. He just hoped Woohyun was able to read in between the lines.

Sunggyu looked over to see the other’s reaction to all of this and saw that Woohyun was crying, again. The younger had tried it best to hide it, lowering his head and biting his cheeks. But Sunggyu still could see the tears streaming down his face and the snot coming out of his nose. Sunggyu then pulled down his sleeve and used it as a tissue to wipe Woohyun dry. And for some reason, the younger looked up at him, dumbfounded. _Did I do something wrong?_ Sunggyu put his hand back down and remarked, “You really do cry a lot.” It probably wasn't the time for teasing but Sunggyu did it anyway (to deflect from whatever he might've done wrong by doing another). “You have more tears than anyone I know.”

Woohyun faces forward and wiped his own tears away. “It's sad,” he mumbled below his breath and then sniffed before continuing. “For everyone.”

“Eung,” Sunggyu grunted. And his mind went back again, seeing himself in that hospital bed being pulled further and further into that inescapable darkness and void.

“I also don't cry this much, typically,” Woohyun defended himself, oblivious to just how far off Sunggyu now was. “But with everything lately…” he interrupted himself with a great sob.

“Huh?” Sunggyu murmured and looked over at the other, who now had given up on hiding. Woohyun was a giant blubbering mess. It seemed like Woohyun knew exactly how he felt. Woohyun was crying a little too bitterly for a complete stranger. _He's crying for me_. “Aigoo,” Sunggyu cooed at him with a smile on his face. He put his arm around the younger, pulling him into a hug. And Woohyun automatically wrapped his arms around the other and nestled into Sunggyu’s neck. The elder snorted. “Such a baby” He rest his head on the others. Sunggyu laughed again, recalling a time when he used to think Woohyun could eat him alive, but now he was letting this little wolf cub nuzzle into his neck. And Sunggyu was only afraid that Woohyun wouldn’t stop crying. That was a major worry now. His smile turned into a grimace as he nuzzled his cheek into the black hair and tightened his hold. _What if he doesn’t stop?_ Sunggyu felt guilty for wanting Woohyun to cry in the first place.

Woohyun didn’t know how good he was for Sunggyu right now, and maybe Sunggyu hadn’t fully realized it either. Through taking care of someone else, especially someone as easy as Woohyun, Sunggyu was able to take his mind off of things. He forgot all about his hospital bed. And how could Sunggyu continue to think about that when Woohyun was grumbling into his shoulder about not being baby. But Sunggyu wanted to show Woohyun just how much a baby he was, more specifically _his_ baby, and pecked him on the head.

Woohyun snickered. “You’re really affectionate,” he commented as he pulled himself away. He even released his arms as he sat back up. But Sunggyu didn’t want to let go of the other just yet and kept his arm around the younger.

“You sound surprised,” Sunggyu grumbled. He didn’t really know how to respond to something like that.

“Of course I am! Have you met you?” Woohyun teased the other, laughing. Once he saw that he hit a nerve, Woohyun swallowed down his laughter and nudged the other. “I'm kidding,” he admitted. “I just didn't expect us to be like this.”

“I didn't expect to be the one to always initiate skinship,” Sunggyu retorted, raising his voice.  “This isn’t good. Do I have to kiss you first every time? What if I don’t want to? Will you never—”

Woohyun kissed his lips closed. “You talk too much,” he spoke in a low voice. He grinned. “Happy?”

“Happy,” Sunggyu repeated softly.  

“Me too,” Woohyun said before going in for another kiss. He must’ve taken Sunggyu’s words like a challenge. He was going to initiate skinship too, and he was proving it now. One of his hands was cupping Sunggyu’s face as he leaned in, kissing him harder. Sadly, Woohyun used his other hand to steady himself, right on Sunggyu’s thigh.

Sunggyu pulled away, wincing. “A-ah, ow,” he spoke through gritted teeth. “Watch it.”

“Ah, I’m sorry,” Woohyun apologized and retreated back to his seat, hands in his lap.

“It’s alright,” Sunggyu assured him. He reached down and held one of Woohyun’s hands. “Just be more careful.”

That seemed to encourage Woohyun enough to try again. “Like this?” he asked and then brought their joined hands to his lips. He kissed Sunggyu’s. And Sunggyu thought that was just sweet, until Woohyun didn’t stop. Woohyun pecked his hand a few more times before his lips started traveling down to his wrist, then past it. He was almost halfway up Sunggyu’s forearm before the elder shook him off.

“N-no, that’s weird,” Sunggyu stammered. He didn’t really know what Woohyun was trying to do. Was he trying to annoy him or get him flustered? Because he ended up doing both. _How is he like this...how is he so_...

“Okay,” Woohyun gave up again with a small chuckle. He was embarrassed too; the blush on his cheeks showed it. The both of them were getting so worked up over something so little (as usual). And Sunggyu really liked how they were.

“Do it like this,” he instructed the other. He cupped Woohyun’s cheeks with both of his hands. His thumbs brushed against those cuts decorating them. He brushed his lips against them, careful not to apply too much pressure. When he was done with that, he tried to catch Woohyun’s eyes that were darting all over the place, and when they finally met, Woohyun kissed him and kissed him again, trying to mimic all of the tenderness that Sunggyu had showed him and giving it back tenfold.

Eventually, though, Woohyun did end up pressing against a sore spot again. It wasn’t hard when his whole body was one giant sore spot. He wanted to apologize and tried to, but he yawned through it. “I’m worn out,” he admitted.

“Kissing wore you out?!” Woohyun picked up.

Yes, but Sunggyu wasn’t about to confess that. “Life wears me out.”

“Sleep,” Woohyun ordered him. “I’ll come back later, after class.” That was right. _School_. Sunggyu sat there in a daze as Woohyun pressed a kiss to the side of his head and left.

 _School...I have to withdraw...I have to go home, to Jeonju_.

* * *

Those thoughts didn’t keep Sunggyu up for long. It was already a settled thing. No amount of thinking was going to change the fact that he was going home, away from all of this. So he slept and slept, until he was woken up by someone shaking him. He didn’t know who it was because three people were hovering over him now, the usual suspects. Kate then left his bedside to heat up some dinner for all of them while Sungyeol and Woohyun pulled Sunggyu up. They insisted that Sunggyu had to eat, and he could deal with that.

But there was one thing that he didn’t know if he could deal with. When the three of them were fixing to leave for the night, Sunggyu held Woohyun back by his sleeve. “Can you stay with me tonight? I don’t want to be alone right now. I really don’t want to be alone.”

Thankfully Woohyun didn’t say anything besides, “Okay.”

...until they actually laid down to sleep.

“When you asked me to stay the night, I didn't imagine that we’d be like this.”

Woohyun was on the floor, yet again and laying on top of another dusty futon that Sunggyu happened to have lying around. And Sunggyu was nice and comfortable, laying on top of his own bed and next to the person he liked. His bed was just a mattress on the ground without a box spring. It was almost like they were laying right next to each other, so Sunggyu didn’t understand why Woohyun was sulking so much right now. But Woohyun was, with his arms across his chest and a deep pout on his lips as he rolled over to face the other. Sunggyu only had to gesture to his broken body to give Woohyun his answer. Woohyun rolled back around, staring up at the ceiling, huffing and grumbling under his breath, which all made Sunggyu laugh until it hurt. “What did you expect?” Sunggyu asked.

“Cuddles.”

Sunggyu scoffed in disbelief and started shaking his head. “I can't believe you just said that. Out loud,” he mumbled and then covered his face with his hands.

“You asked,” Woohyun retorted in a cheeky tone. At least it sounded like he was smiling again.

Sunggyu lowered his hands. “I regret asking,” Sunggyu came back. He let a heavy sigh. “How can you even cuddle with someone covered in plaster?”

There was the sound of sheets rustling and Woohyun muttering, “I think I can figure out how. Just let me.”

“It was rhetorical! Get down!” Sunggyu yelped and turned towards the other, but Woohyun was just laying down on his side, facing the elder, grinning mischievously.

“I was kidding. I wasn't going to get up,” he confessed. He then scooted closer to Sunggyu and quickly lifted his head to kiss him on the nose before he flipped onto his back again. He gave out a contented sigh. “This is nice. Even though I always end up on the floor when I spend the night with you, it's still nice. It would be even nicer if I was in a bed. I'm not about to throw you on the floor but…”

“Woohyun?” Sunggyu interjected.

“Yes?”

“Go to bed,” his voice was warmer than his words. Sunggyu was smiling with his eyes closed.

“Okay,” Woohyun chirped. There were more rustling going on. Sunggyu’s smile widened. Either Woohyun was having a difficult time getting comfortable for he was too excited to sleep. “Good night, Sunggyu.” Yea, Woohyun was excited.

“Night, Hyun,” Sunggyu said back.

“I like you.”

Sunggyu sputtered. “I like you too. Now be quiet.”

* * *

“Ah!” Sunggyu snapped awake, bolted upright, soaked in sweat. All he could hear was his heartbeat in his ears and his heavy pants. At least he was breathing, even though he felt like he couldn’t. Air was running away from him and he couldn’t catch it. His hands began roaming around, searching not for his lost breath but for something else. _He’s not here._ Sunggyu’s eyes acclimated to the darkness and saw that to be true. _Woohyun’s not here!_

But _he_ was! Sunggyu had just seen him, the cashier, the killer. Sunggyu tried to run away from him. But there was no escape. He was just running through endless stacks of books, like a labyrinth. And then, and then, the killer took a hold of him, grabbing Sunggyu by the ankle and dragging him away. When he let go of the ankle, he grabbed onto something else and Sunggyu felt it being plunged into his heart.

Sunggyu was rubbing that spot now. Nothing was there. Was it all a dream? It felt too real. Or did he really die and this dark place was…

“Oh, are you awake?”

Light flooded into the room as Woohyun walked out of the bathroom door. Sunggyu still couldn’t make him out. The bright light made him look nothing more like a dark shadow. But his voice was enough. Sunggyu dropped his hand from his chest. It was a dream.

“Are you okay?” Woohyun asked. He sounded more worried this time because Sunggyu wasn’t answering.

So the elder did this time “Eung.” He was alive and not alone and that was enough.

Woohyun crawled onto his ‘bed’ and laid down. “Go back to sleep,” he urged the other and brushed his cheek with the back of his hand. Sunggyu immediately snatched that hand. “Oh.” The elder brought that hand to his lips and kissed it. Feeling Woohyun, smelling him, helped to bring him back to reality and calm him down. _Everything’s alright. He’s in jail. That’s right, he is. I’m okay. I’m safe_.

“Huh?” he muttered. Woohyun had brought their hands over to him and kissed Sunggyu’s.

“Everything’s okay. I’m here. Go back to sleep,” he whispered and kissed the hand again.

“O-oh,” Sunggyu replied. He dragged Woohyun’s hand back to his side and wrapped his other hand around it before tucking it under his cheek.

After that, he slept just fine.

* * *

The next morning, when Sunggyu woke up, the futon next to him was folded up and shoved along the side of the wall. But Woohyun was still in the apartment. Sunggyu could hear him in the kitchen, and it took a long while for Sunggyu to hobble over there. But when he did, he greeted Woohyun with a tired but warm smile. Woohyun was preparing food for the both of them (or was preparing food for himself and now was taking things back out to make some for Sunggyu too), and he asked how Sunggyu slept. As he was sitting down, Sunggyu remarked that he slept very well that night.

And they both knew that was a lie.

Without a word, Woohyun began to place dishes in front of Sunggyu and his empty seat. Sunggyu was almost too afraid to touch the food in front of him. Almost. He was very hungry and it wasn’t safe to take medicine on an empty stomach. So he started eating but watched Woohyun closely as the younger made himself some instant coffee and then sat in front of Sunggyu, rubbing away the sleep from his eyes. “I’m going to say something, and promise that you won’t get mad at me,” Woohyun announced after putting both of his hands on his cup.

Sunggyu put down his spoon. “What? What is it?”

Woohyun raised an eyebrow. “Promise?” he asked again. But Sunggyu did no such thing, so Woohyun forced him into it. He leaned over the table, grabbed Sunggyu’s hand, raised it so that they could link pinkies in a pinky swear. Proud Woohyun sat back down and pointed at the other. “You promised.” Apparently, Sunggyu’s compliance was enough for him.

“Whatever. Just tell me what it is,” Sunggyu mumbled back. All of this waiting was making him anxious, and he really didn’t need to be more anxious than he already was.

It was more nerve-wrecking that Woohyun wouldn’t make eye contact with him, even though Sunggyu tried. The younger just had his eyes down at his cup and that thin, apprehensive smile on his lips, quivering at the corner. “I think you need to talk to someone, a professional, about this,” he finally said. He raised his head, letting his smile fall to a frown. “I don’t think I can help you. I don’t know how.”

“Woohyun-ah, this isn’t your problem,” Sunggyu was stern. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared past the other.

“You promised that you wouldn’t get angry,” Woohyun reminded him.

“I didn’t promise,” Sunggyu pointed out, ending with a scoff. He looked the other, up and down, with his tongue in his cheek, before adding, “And I’m only upset that you think that _you_ need to fix me. This...this is mine.”

Woohyun huffed, “I just want to help.”

Sunggyu uncrossed his arms, forced a thin smile onto his face, and reached over to pat Woohyun’s hand. “You’re doing enough, trust me,” he assured him. Then he pulled his hand away. “I have to do the rest on my own.” Those words appeared to convince Woohyun a little, but he still wasn’t won over. Woohyun looked helpless because all he wanted to do was help, ironically, but Sunggyu didn’t want to be too reliant on him. It would be so easy to be. Woohyun could be selfless and Sunggyu could be selfish. But that wouldn’t be good for their relationship. It wouldn’t be fair. Although Sunggyu seemed like he was being selfish now, (for one, he had to be) it would be better for the both of them in the long run, and Sunggyu wanted to go the distance with Woohyun, all the way to the end.

“But you’re right. I should see someone,” Sunggyu added, showing that he wasn’t offended by the suggestion. “I’ll go see someone later. I promise.”

Woohyun lit up when he heard the last statement, but then his expression darkened again with distrust. “When?” he challenged the other, making sure that Sunggyu really indeed was planning to go and wasn’t just dismissing all of this.

“When I’m in Jeonju, I’ll start then,” Sunggyu answered honestly.

“Good,” Woohyun muttered. He then began nodding with his lips tucked into his mouth, and kept nodding until his head was hanging over his cup again. “When you’re in Jeonju…” he repeated in a low whisper. He looked up at the other. “That’ll be soon, won’t it?”

“Eung, tomorrow,” Sunggyu responded. He flashed the other an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry.” Woohyun cocked his head at that, so Sunggyu added, “I’m sorry that I’m leaving, when we…” _When we just became a we_ , that was the only way Sunggyu knew how to describe them now.

“Eh, don’t be.” Sunggyu was surprised by how casual Woohyun was being and almost playful. Woohyun waved his hand in the air as to bat away the other’s worries. “I understand. You should be home with family,” Woohyun explained.

Sunggyu was confused. Woohyun was positively sad a moment ago, but he was really okay with it? _I guess that could happen_ , he thought as he cocked his head. “In any case,” Sunggyu drawled out. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner. I didn’t mean to make you mad.”

Woohyun chuckled with his cup to his lips. “I was mad?” he asked before taking a sip.

“You kicked my seat,” Sunggyu tried to stir up the memory, but it didn’t work. Woohyun narrowed his eyes in confusion. “Yesterday. In the car.”

“Oh,” Woohyun gasped, finally remembering. He put down the cup and explained, “That was an accident. I didn’t have a lot of leg room.”

“Oh,” Sunggyu muttered, followed by a groan. Apparently he wasn’t done with misunderstanding Woohyun. Would he ever completely understand him?

“Look, Sunggyu,” Woohyun called him out of his mind. He was grinning at Sunggyu, genuinely, and not that weird smile Sunggyu didn’t like. _He doesn’t mind_. “I knew that this wasn’t going to be easy. I mean, I didn’t expect you to leave town indefinitely like this, but I knew that we wouldn’t have an easy time of things,” he revealed. He then bowed his head a bit, swallowing harshly. Sunggyu kept a close eye on him. _He gave this a lot of thought_. Woohyun continued, with his eyes still dropped, “For the both of us. I’m not going to be easy for you either.”

“I know,” now that Sunggyu understood. He understood very well, so much so that he had a proud smile on his face.

Woohyun raised his gaze, completely serious, and shook his head. “I don’t think you do.”

“I _know_. I do,” Sunggyu stated, hitting the table for emphasis. He might’ve not understood Woohyun perfectly just yet (but he had time to learn); however, he knew this: Woohyun was lonely and thirsty for affection. Sunggyu sensed his loneliness when he caught the other eating cream bread at the convenience store and watching people walk by. And Sunggyu knew just how starved Woohyun was for affection from the very beginning. _Anybody can see that you being ‘cute’ is just a desperate cry for attention._ But Sunggyu never knew that he’d ever be sad that he couldn’t be the one to give it to Woohyun.

There was one more thing that Sunggyu learned, more recently: Woohyun could be easily misunderstood for being happy and okay with things when he really wasn’t. Woohyun wanted you to misunderstand him in that way. And right now he almost had Sunggyu fooled. Sunggyu grinned as he put one more piece of the Woohyun puzzle together. _He’s going to let me go, but he isn’t happy about it_.

But the smile fell away. Sunggyu knew all of this. His eyes traced over Woohyun’s face, stopping at every cut. One of the major reasons why Woohyun was probably sad to have him go (and Sunggyu was sad for this too), was that Woohyun was losing the one person that he could talk about this whole ordeal with. And even with Sunggyu, that conversation didn’t come easily. _But he needs to talk_. Sunggyu sighed before continuing, “I know you, and that’s why I think you should see someone too, especially if I’m not here for you to talk with.”

Woohyun tapped his finger against the table for a few seconds before answering, “That’s not a bad idea.” And there was that shaky smile. _Yea, he needs to go_.

“I know that too,” Sunggyu responded cockily, which made Woohyun scoff and then chuckle. Sunggyu chuckled too. And then he added another cocky statement, “We’re going to make this work.” He slapped his hand on the table, acting as if it was a done deal.

Woohyun mimicked him and kept laughing as he agreed, “Yea, I think we will.” He then flashed his fangs at Sunggyu, which made him more intrigued than scared. “So for now,” Woohyun drawled out as he dragged his chair over to Sunggyu’s side, until his knees knocked into the other’s leg. He sat up a bit, hovering out of his chair, and pecked the other on the lips. He then sat back down, very proud with what he’d done. “We should make the most of our time together,” Woohyun finished in a low whisper.

“Good idea,” Sunggyu agreed, and he didn’t have to lean too far to kiss the other. Woohyun met him in the middle, still being careful, so the kiss didn’t last for long. But Woohyun stayed close, very close. When Sunggyu spoke, his lips were almost brushing against his skin. “I think I might actually miss you.”

Now Woohyun moved away and hit the other lightly with the back of his hand. “Do you have to say it like that?” he chided the other.

Sunggyu screwed his eyes shut and swallowed hard before confessing, “I’m going to miss you.”

“Me too,” Woohyun replied, almost cutting him off, like he was impatient to say it himself. Or maybe he was impatient for something else. Woohyun grabbed the back of the other’s neck and pulled him in for a deep kiss. And Sunggyu reached over to hold him there. He didn’t want Woohyun to always be afraid of hurt him, even though Sunggyu was whimpering in pain a little now. In the end, Woohyun was right. They should make the most of their time left together. _When’s the next time we can be like this?_

Woohyun leaned away. Now Sunggyu whined for another reason. “Your breath stinks,” Woohyun teased.

“Yours too,” Sunggyu shot back but still went in to continue their kiss.

Woohyun broke it again. “Let’s get cleaned up and get you packed,” he suggested as he dragged his chair back and stood up. Woohyun started to clear the table. And Sunggyu pouted as he watched the other move about and move further and further away from him. It sucked that they had to spend their precious time doing things like that. Then Sunggyu winced realizing that he still had to withdraw from school. _So much to do when I just want to stay and...do nothing_. He groaned.

“Do you need help getting up?”

“Ah, no, I can do that on my own,” Sunggyu refused his help, for that. He then gave the other the cutest grin that he could. He could see Woohyun being drawn into it. “Woohyun, are you understanding enough to pack for me?”

Woohyun scoffed. “No,” and with that he left the kitchen. Sunggyu huffed. _And I thought he liked me_. After he thought that, Woohyun poked his head back into the kitchen, “But Kate might be!”

“Oh, good idea!” _There’s a reason why I like you._

* * *

After Sunggyu was cleaned up, or as clean as he could be, Kate and Sungyeol were at his place. They were going to help pack so that Sunggyu and Woohyun could go to the University and do what needed to be done there. While they were out, they had lunch together. Sunggyu asked if they could. So in probably the worst visual state of their lives, Sunggyu and Woohyun went on their first date, maybe. Neither of them said it was, but Sunggyu was pretty sure it was.

When they came back, Sunggyu hoped that the packing would be done, but he came in to see Sungyeol and Kate both trying to fit into one of his sweatshirts together. And they eventually did. “Look! Couple tee!” Sungyeol exclaimed and raised his arms, which made the sweatshirt swallow his girlfriend whole. “Oops!”

“Stop it!” Sunggyu yelled as he hobbled over.

With Sungyeol’s help, Kate was able to get her head through the hole again. “Sunggyu, can we keep this to remember you by?” she begged.

“No,” Sunggyu snapped as he tried to pull the sweatshirt off of them. “I’m coming back! I’m not going away forever.”

“Oh,” Woohyun muttered. He had just finished putting on Sunggyu’s long plaid coat. “Does that mean I can’t keep this to remember you by either?”

“Stop trying to steal all of my clothes,” Sunggyu grumbled as moved further into the room. “Clothes go into the bag, not on your bodies.”

“Yes, sir,” Kate said as she slipped out of the sweatshirt and then helped her boyfriend out of it.

While those two were doing that, Woohyun leaned over. “I really can’t keep this?”

“We’ll talk about it later,” Sunggyu whispered back and patted him on the shoulder. Woohyun took that as a ‘yes,’ and Sunggyu was just going to have to learn how to live without his favorite jacket for awhile.

When the packing was finally done, the four of them sat down to watch a drama while eating. It wasn’t until the second episode when it hit Sunggyu that this was the first time that Woohyun was with them to binge watch a drama. It just seemed so natural for him to be there, like it should’ve been like this all along.

 _Next time we do this, we should invite Myungsoo too_. He was already thinking about the next time they’d do this as the four of them were laughing at the drama. He liked it that much.

When he was planning out their next gathering, Woohyun leaned over and whispered, “I won’t end up like her, right? Like Pyo Nari?”

Sunggyu sputtered into a laugh. They were watching Jealousy Incarnate, and the lead girl (Pyo Nari) had been stuck in a one-sided love for three years. And to make matters worse, her love moved out of the country to Thailand. “I’m not going out of the country, and I won’t be gone for that long,” Sunggyu responded. He then dropped his voice. “Besides, this isn’t one-sided.”

Sunggyu didn’t even notice how Woohyun responded because he was caught off guard by a gagging noise coming from his right. After he whipped his head over, he saw Sungyeol pretending to throw up ‘in disgust’ over the cheesy thing that Sunggyu had just said, and Kate was patting his back to ‘help’ him.

Maybe Sunggyu would reconsider inviting those two to the next drama watching (and if he did, he’d probably have to squeeze Myungsoo between them).

But even given the teasing, Sunggyu’s heart hadn’t felt this much at ease in a long time. It was almost like things were back to the way that they were. Almost.

Sunggyu still fell asleep holding Woohyun’s hand. It was the only way that he could tell what was real and what wasn’t when he was drifting from night terrors into reality and back again.

* * *

Sunggyu left the following morning, bright and early. It was both unfortunate and fortunate that there wasn’t much time for goodbyes. He didn’t know what more to say to them than just ‘goodbye,’ but also he didn’t want to leave them quite yet. After all, he didn’t know when he was coming back, and that fact made all of this harder.

There were no set day for them to count down to, no set return for them to look forward to. Nothing, they had nothing but a vague promise of ‘someday.’ And Sunggyu hoped that it would be a ‘someday soon’ (although not too soon because there were some things, demons, that he wasn’t ready to face yet).

When Sunggyu was two hours outside of Seoul, he texted Kate how Woohyun was doing and he jokingly asked whether Woohyun cried yet. And she responded with a picture message. They were at school in the library, and it was an all-too close photo of Woohyun’s profile. He was sulking, a lot, but was dry-eyed.

**Kate: He said that you already took too many of his tears. He dried up. No more!**

Sunggyu groaned. He hadn’t meant for Kate to actually ask Woohyun, but, of course, her and her big mouth read his text out loud, and now Woohyun was upset.

However, later that night, when he was at the dinner table with his family, Sunggyu received a message from Sungyeol. It was another picture, but this one was hard to figure out. It was a close up shot of something, something tan. There was a red mark across the bottom of the screen and what looked like a drop of water near the top. Sunggyu squinted as he studied the picture. What was it?

Then the messages rolled in.

**Sungyeol: I found one!**

**Sungyeol: Be grateful for that photo. He hit me afterwards.**

**Sungyeol: It still hurts.**

Sunggyu went back and forth between reading the messages and lookings at the photo and reading the messages again. When it dawned on him, he hit the table, which gave his parents a shock. _He did!_ He was screaming with joy inside of his head. _He did cry for me!_

The next message that he got confirmed just that.

**Woohyun: Stop wanting me to cry! It’s not nice! You’re mean!**

Sunggyu quickly typed out a response: **I just wanted to know if you missed me because I already miss you.** With the distance between them now, it would be all too easy for them to get mad at the other and stay mad. To make this work, they needed honesty, both brutal honesty and cheesy honesty. Sunggyu might have cringed as he typed the response, but it was still true. Two hours away from Seoul and he was already texting Kate about Woohyun. And as day was turning into night, Sunggyu was worried about how he’d chase away those nightmares now. He missed Woohyun, a lot. And it hadn’t been a full day yet. Woohyun had to know how he felt.

A message rolled in less than a minute after he sent his.

**Woohyun: Miss you too.**

Woohyun had to know how he felt because Sunggyu wanted to hear it back. And once he did, the loneliness and want abated a little, and Sunggyu was able to smile. He put down his phone and continued to eat.

 _We’re going to get through this. We’re going to make this work_. Sunggyu was sure of it, even though he wasn’t sure at all of when they’d see each other again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the most kisses that I've ever written in one chapter for a woogyu fic. But it was time for fluff after all of that angst. I hope it warmed your heart a bit.
> 
> So...I never ever expected for this chapter to get so long. That was why I kept saying that this would be my last one. But then I kept adding scenes and dialogue (and probably too much). So I'm sorry for the awkward stopping point. The next chapter will pick up with Sunggyu's stay at his parents' house and the trial. Dun dun dun! Sunggyu's going to court! For justice! For mandu!
> 
> Now Kate is going to bed! For sleep!


	10. PREVIEW of the Final Serving of Mandu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is just a little appetizer before the final chapter. I hope you enjoy!

In life, one has to be very careful of people more than anything. Just because they look okay on the outside, it doesn’t mean that they are on the inside. There are wicked people whose thoughts you just can’t figure out. And then there are people with a bright smile on their faces, but on the inside they feel broken beyond repair.

That was Sunggyu now. That was Sunggyu in front of his mother, his father, his sister, and his therapist. Given what had happened to him, when he said he was “fine” and flashed his smile, none of them were convinced. His parents coddled him. His sister came to see him everyday, even though she had a husband and a house of her own. And he got medication for his anxiety and reprimands from his therapist for not being honest, for still putting up walls. Sunggyu was safe now. He didn’t need to act so defensive. He could open himself up to people once more and not fear getting hurt. He was safe. He knew he was. Sunggyu knew that he was in Jeonju, miles and miles away from the attacker who was locked up in a jail cell. But he still didn’t feel safe. Nor did he feel less anxious, hence the medicine that he took more often than he’d like too.

So for the first week at home, Sunggyu hid like this. He hid emotionally and physically, locking himself in his bedroom with the curtains drawn shut.

But for the second week, he did a complete 180 turn. He didn’t want to be alone. He was attached to his mother’s hip, following her around. And once she was fed up with him, he clung onto his father and then his sister. And when they all went to bed and the nightmares kept Sunggyu from sleeping, he’d call Woohyun, who’d always answer, no matter how tired he was. So Woohyun would often fall asleep while still on the phone, but Sunggyu kept the call going. The soft snoring on the other side of the line was like a white noise machine, blotting out everything else and muffling those dark voices in his head.

Woohyun had started seeing a therapist too (although he hadn’t been to quite so many sessions as Sunggyu, not like it was a contest). They would talk about going to sessions and sometimes share the advice that they got. They didn’t talk much, though, about what actually went on during their sessions, but that was private. Sunggyu could respect that. And he liked how Woohyun never pressured him to share anything either. After all, sharing Sunggyu’s pains and struggles was what the therapist was for, not Woohyun. What was Woohyun for then? 

Everything else.

Woohyun was there to comfort him, to distract him, to inform him about what was going on at the University, to play video games online with him, to be his friend, to be his support, to be supported by him in return, to make Sunggyu feel needed and wanted...Woohyun was there for so many reasons, but above all, he was there for this: to love Sunggyu.

A long distance relationship, it wasn’t how Sunggyu ever wanted to start a relationship. Heck, he never thought he’d ever find himself in one. What was the point of being in a relationship when you could physically  _ be _ with the person? Well, Sunggyu understood why someone would do that now, but he still wasn’t sure of how to do it.

They called each other at least once a day, and the phone calls varied in length, lasting from only 5 minutes to 3 hours. They had video called more in the beginning, like saying ‘good night’ to each other through short videos messages. They even tried ‘cafe dates,’ meaning they would video call each other while drinking coffee. Sunggyu would be at a cafe nearby and Woohyun would be somewhere on campus. But over time, they talked to each other like that less and less. 

They’d also send pictures to each other often, of whatever reminded them of the other. Like Woohyun would take a picture of an empty seat in Kang’s lecture with Sunggyu’s coat (which he had really stolen) draped over it or of whatever he was studying in the library. And Sunggyu often took pictures of funny things he saw (like shirts with odd phrases on them) or things he’d like to do with Woohyun when he came back (like see that one animated movie). There was a lot, a lot of pictures exchanged between them, a lot of things that Sunggyu wanted them to do together.

Selcas were exchanged between them as well, less frequently than probably either of them expected. Sunggyu much rather preferred to video call Woohyun and show him his face like that. But to take a picture of himself that looked, well, cute and handsome and sexy and healthy and also effortless, all of the things that he wanted to show to the younger, it was incredibly embarrassing and his mother caught him on one or two occasions. 

But why Woohyun didn’t send him more, that confused Sunggyu. It was times like those when Sunggyu couldn’t figure out if they were “together” or just best friends. Yes, they’d kissed. But kisses aren’t promises. Yes, they’d confessed. But feelings change. And Sunggyu was undergoing a lot of changes these days, sometimes several times a day. Woohyun was probably the same.

Some days, Sunggyu heard more from Kate than from Woohyun. Many days, Woohyun sounded distracted and cold, so cold that it’d make Sunggyu freeze as if he’d done something wrong.

And after a month and a half had passed, Sunggyu was almost certain that they weren’t together anymore (that is if they ever were together to begin with). He just had too many doubts flooding his mind to see any other possibility.

Which meant he overlooked the fact that they still talked everyday and that Woohyun remembered when his sessions were and asked how they went. Sunggyu even overlooked the heart-filled emojis and stickers that Woohyun would send over Kakao because, well, Woohyun was cute so of course he’d send cute things. And Sunggyu never even paid attention to how his own tone sounded like during some phone calls they had.

But one thing that Sunggyu couldn’t overlook was the package at his doorstep one day. It was from Woohyun, and he hadn’t said anything about sending a package. It was a surprise, and Sunggyu had absolutely no idea what was inside. The package was light but bulging at the same time. Whatever it was, it was too large for the box, and it made Sunggyu very curious about what was inside and also anxious. Why was he anxious? Well, everything made him anxious, especially things that were out of the ordinary. And everything filled his mind with thoughts that he’d normally wouldn’t think of before.

The package was large. What if this was Sunggyu’s coat that Woohyun had stolen? What if this was Woohyun breaking up with him?

What if it really wasn’t from Woohyun? What if it was from  _ him _ ? What if he’d gotten out of jail and sent him this? What if the man sent him this  _ from  _ jail? Were prisoners allowed to do that?

Because of those “what ifs” it took Sunggyu a longer time to open the package then he’d like to admit. A few times, he’d stop just to start breathing again, not realizing that he’d been holding his breath for so long.

“Kim Sunggyu, what are you doing?” he reprimanded himself. “It’s just a package. Just a package from your...from Woohyun. There’s nothing to be afraid of!” he spoke the last statement with a loud grunt as he finally tore the package open.

Well, it was a jean jacket, and it definitely was from Woohyun, even though there didn’t appear to be any note along with it. But Sunggyu just knew that it was. It was the one Woohyun had been wearing  _ that _ night. Sunggyu recognized it because of the missing button near the bottom. That night, when Sunggyu was falling apart and Woohyun was trying to keep him together, his eyes were fixed on that empty gap where a button should be. His fingers had played with it, as they were now. There was something oddly calming about it.

Sunggyu didn’t know what Woohyun meant by sending this to him, especially since there was no note include, but it just felt like Woohyun meant something special, something important. 

Sunggyu removed the hoodie he was wearing and put on the jacket. After checking himself in the mirror, Sunggyu sniggered. It really wasn’t his style and a bit short in the sleeves. But...he kinda liked it. He really kinda liked it.

He stuffed his hands into the pocket, and that was when he found it, a note.

_ Since I’m not there to keep you warm, have this _ .  _ I miss you, a lot. But I’ll wait for you. —NWH _

Now he loved it.

* * *

Sunggyu loved a lot of things. He loved his new (well, borrowed) jean jacket that kept him warm. He loved his family who supported him through this difficult time. He didn’t really  _ love _ his therapist, but he loved how nice he felt coming out of their sessions. He loved his mother’s home-cooking that he got to eat everyday now. He loved being able to take naps whenever he felt like it during the day (although it was because he couldn’t sleep well at night). But most of all he loved...gaming.

Yes, during this break from school (and life in general), Sunggyu became addicted to gaming. So much so that he was nearing the status of those guys who live in their room and never come out. It started out as a way for him and Woohyun to keep in touch. And it easily went from playing with Woohyun to playing without him to playing all of the time, including at the dinner table, much to his parents’ chagrin.

Sunggyu was semi-aware that this new addiction wasn’t healthy, but it was his coping mechanism. It kept him distracted. It helped pass the time and fill up the day when Sunggyu didn’t know how else to do it. He didn’t have coursework. He didn’t have a job. He didn’t even have the courage to venture outside on his own. But in the games, he could go anywhere he wanted and do anything he wanted. So his virtual life became the only life he was living. 

What didn’t help his addiction was the fact that everyone in Sunggyu’s real life didn’t seem to see it as a problem. They just let him keep playing. So Sunggyu himself didn’t see it as a problem either, until it became one. Until it became very evident that it was the life he preferred living. 

The epiphany came when Sunggyu was playing and his phone rang. He didn’t have to look at the ID to know who it was. Sunggyu just swiped his finger across the screen and answered the call with the grunt, not daring to tear his attention away from the screen.

“Is this a good time?” Woohyun asked on the other side of the call.

And Sunggyu replied with brutal honesty: “No, I'm in the middle of a game. I'll call you when I'm done. Bye!” With that, he hung up the phone and tossed it onto the floor.

And when he finished the level, Sunggyu didn’t have that wave of satisfaction and accomplishment he’d usually have. He couldn’t when he realized what he’d done. His eyes fell down from the screen onto his phone. Woohyun wasn’t like his mother. Mothers can take these small abuses from their children in stride. They were used to it, sadly. She probably thought her son was going through another puberty at the moment, which was most likely true. Sunggyu was undergoing a lot of changes. But for Woohyun…

_ We should make the most of our time together _ .

Unlike his mother who he saw and talked to everyday, Sunggyu and Woohyun hadn’t called in a few days because Woohyun had been busy with school. Because of that, Sunggyu had sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t a regular phone call. He checked the call log on his phone. Yea, Woohyun had tried to video call him and Sunggyu answered it with his cheek and hung up without even looking at his face.

Sunggyu dragged a hand down his face as he called the other back.  _ I’ll be lucky if he answers _ , he thought as he sat up alert. And with every ring, his back slouched more and more. _ I made him upset. He’s not going to answer _ .

But then Woohyun did.

“Woo–”

And Woohyun hung up before Sunggyu could get the whole name out. Sunggyu was stunned and kept the phone to his cheek. He still called out the other’s name a few times even though the phone call had obviously already ended. This constriction in his chest and the sinking feeling in his stomach, he didn’t like it one bit.  _ What did I do? _ He would’ve preferred it if Woohyun didn’t answer the call at all. It would’ve hurt less.

And it hurt even more when Sunggyu’s ringtone was blasting through his ears. He pulled the phone away only to put it back onto his ear. It was Woohyun again, and it was a regular call.

“Hello?” he answered anxiously.

“Doesn't feel good, does it?” Woohyun sounded bitter and cold. Sunggyu didn’t blame him.

“I'm sorry,” he apologized. “I'm free now to talk, if you want to. So...do you?”

Woohyun let out a heavy sigh. “I have no time. I need to study. Exams. That's why I called you during dinner,” he explained. He was so short with his words, as if he didn’t have time for Sunggyu now. But he still called back. He still made time for him. Whereas Sunggyu had all the time in the world right now and was wasting it. It hadn’t even realized it was dinner time already. He pulled back his shades and looked out the window. Everything was getting darker, the sky outside and the mood within Sunggyu’s room.

“Oh,” Sunggyu muttered and let go of the shades. “I didn't know.” He didn’t know that he was wasting his own time and Woohyun’s.

“I know,” but Woohyun seemed to understand. He was more understanding than Sunggyu gave him credit for at times. He knew and understood  _ everything _ about Sunggyu. He probably was even aware of how terribly sorry the other felt too. Sunggyu’s heart twisted at those two words ( _ I know _ ) and flipped at the following: “Don't hang up next time, please?”

Sunggyu groaned. Woohyun shouldn’t even have to ask for that or sound so desperate. _ He really...really wanted to talk with me _ . “I promise,” Sunggyu spoke lowly and full of guilt. “I won’t ever do it again.” 

“Okay,” Woohyun’s voice sounded a bit brighter, but then it fell again, “I should get going.”

_ No, not yet _ , Sunggyu thought. This call was far too short, too unsatisfying. Now that they were talking, Sunggyu didn’t want it to end. He had so much more that he wanted to say, and there was so much that he wanted to hear from Woohyun too.  _ I should’ve just answered the first time _ , that ran through his mind and he winced. Well, he wasn’t going to waste their time together anymore. He was going to make the most of it.

“Woohyun-ah?”

“Hm?” 

“I love you,” Sunggyu confessed. But he was met only with silence. He pulled the phone away and checked the screen. The phone call was still continuing. Woohyun hadn’t hung up. Then why wasn’t he answering? Did he mute himself? Sunggyu put the phone back onto his ear. “Woohyun? Are you there? I can’t hear you.”

“You're not saying that because you're sorry, right? Are you saying it just to make me feel better?” the words came rolling off the younger’s tongue hotly. Sunggyu’s eyes widened and his whole body jolted. This wasn’t the reaction that he was expecting at all. Woohyun possibly sounded even more offended than before.

“A bit but…” Sunggyu replied honestly. He had wanted to make Woohyun feel better, but also ‘feel better’ in the sense that Sunggyu wanted Woohyun to know that he cared for him, deeply. Isn’t that why people say ‘I love you’ in the first place? To make the other feel good? Feel loved?

This time, Woohyun didn’t quite understand Sunggyu’s motives: “Good night.” He was about to hang up again.

But Sunggyu wouldn’t allow that to happed. “Woohyun! I love you! I seriously do!” he shouted loudly, so loudly that his parents probably heard and the neighbor on the other side of the wall. However, Sunggyu only cared about one person who seemed intent on not listening to him. “I can’t really prove it now. I can only say it,” he added at a lower volume.

“Then tell me,” Woohyun’s voice still sounded sharp.

“Eh?” Sunggyu was at a loss for words at the wrong time.

“Forget about it,” the other muttered.  _ No, he’s going to try to hang up again _ .

Sunggyu closed his eyes as if it would make what he was about to say easier, “Because you’re good to me. You tolerate me.”

“And…” Woohyun prompted him after a short pause.

Sunggyu whined but continued, “And...you’re cute. Aish, I don’t know what else to say. This is embarrassing.” There was only a few people that Sunggyu could feel vulnerable around and Woohyun was one of them, but Sunggyu was reaching his limit, even with Woohyun. “Hey…don’t you have anything to say? Are you still there?” Woohyun still hadn’t said those words back to him. Would he? In Sunggyu’s mind, there was no reason why the younger shouldn’t. In fact, up until this point Sunggyu could’ve sworn that Woohyun had liked  _ him _ more.  _ Was I wrong? Had I been wrong this whole time? About everything? Oh no _ ...Sunggyu’s throat tightened. His heart sped up. He was panicking

“I love you too, and I miss you...so much,” and with that, the panic dissolved away. The Woohyun he knew was back. “When are you going to come back home?” there was a slight whine in his voice when he asked that and it made Sunggyu smile.

Sunggyu laid down on his bed, relaxed. “I  _ am _ home,” he joked.

“When are you going to come back to  _ my _ home?” Woohyun corrected himself with a short chuckle.

Sunggyu sighed and rubbed his face. “I don’t know,” he answered. Honestly, he didn’t really want to go back to the city, ever again, but he also didn’t want to stay locked away in Jeonju forever. He missed the life he used to have, but he also knew that he couldn’t get that life back just by moving back up there. He needed to work on himself more. That was incredibly evident right now. But he didn’t know when he’d be ready, so he gave Woohyun the best answer that he could: “It’ll be after exams, that’s for sure. So I won’t distract you from studying.”

“You would be a distraction,” Woohyun agreed with his wheezing laugh

“Because I’m handsome,” Sunggyu suggested.

“Because you talk too much,” the other retorted.

Sunggyu gasped and raised his voice, pretending to be offended, “I do? Me? Not you?”

“I do too,” Woohyun admitted. “That’s why we go well together. If you were here, I’d just want to talk to you the whole time.”

Sunggyu grinned. “Well, then you’re lucky that I’m not there, so you can study until you feel like dying,” he replied.

Woohyun whined, “Already feel like I’m dying because I’m missing you too much.”

Sunggyu groaned and rolled around on his bed, hiding his reddening face in his pillow. “Ah, did you have to say that?”

“You didn’t like it?” Sunggyu could perfectly conjure up an image of Woohyun’s expression as he asked that question, that nervous and quivering smile. That smile that Sunggyu had misunderstood for so long, but now, he knew it so well.

“I did,” it was his turn to put the other’s worries to rest. It was nerve-wrecking, being intimate through words instead of by touch It felt riskier somehow, but Sunggyu felt closer with him now. And it felt really, really good. So good that now, Sunggyu was ready to let him go. “Don’t you have to study?” he reminded.

“Shit! I do!” Woohyun cursed and then let out a string of grumbles. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

And Sunggyu waited for Woohyun to end the call this time, which took awhile. But when it was over, Sunggyu rolled out of bed and walked up to his gaming system. He unplugged it and began to pack it all way. It was time for a change. It was time to live in reality again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JUST A REMINDER! this is just a preview ahahaha 
> 
> Thank you guys for being so patient. I'm going to graduate this semester, and I'll start to live life normally again, which includes fic-writing...and also seeing the sunlight and eating regular meals...ANYWAY, I hope you all have a happy easter!


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